Minerva Takes A Break Hot Spring Goes Dry; Among Changes In Yellowstone

Life goes on, and even multiplies, in Yellowstone National Park, while the rest of us hibernate for the winter.

While there is still snow in higher elevations, most of the park now is open, and we can take a peek at what went on behind winter’s walls.

Strange things are brewing in the hot springs. Minerva Terrace, one of many thermal features in the Mammoth Hot Springs area of Yellowstone, usually displays a constant stream of water flowing over the colorful terraces. But not this summer.

Over the winter, the hot spring dried up. Park rangers noticed an abrupt end to the running water in early November.

“We didn’t have any indication it was drying up,” said Jeanne Johnson, a park naturalist. “Some springs we see a gradual drying up, but Minerva was overnight.”

This doesn’t mean the spring is dead.

“It’s highly likely it will become active again,” Johnson said. “That’s what makes it unique and worth visiting - comparing it with other features like Old Faithful.”

She said the main ingredients for hot springs, which seep water constantly, and geysers, which erupt in intervals, are a heat source, a water source and a good plumbing system.

The heat source is a magma chamber below the surface of Yellowstone. A good supply of water comes in from snowmelt and rain. The plumbing system is found in cracks in the rocks that allow water to percolate down to the heat source, turn to steam and bubble back to the surface. The type of rock in a thermal dictates whether the water will be super-heated and erupt in a geyser, or slowly heated and seep out in a spring.

Besides checking out Mammoth and Old Faithful, Johnson said a worthwhile thermal stop is Norris Geyser Basin, where you can watch the activity of fountain geysers, which are hidden underwater until they erupt.

Other popular park features are its year-round residents. The season’s new baby animals often can be reason enough to take a drive through the park this time of year. Wendy Clark, a Yellowstone wildlife biologist, said if you know where to look, you are sure to see some little critters.

The bison calving season starts in mid-April and peters out by mid-May, so there is a good chance of seeing some baby bison, especially in Lamar Valley in the northeastern section of the park and along Madison River Valley between Old Faithful and Madison.

It helps to have a good pair of binoculars and patience, Clark said.

The bison calves are reddish-brown, turning darker brown and growing much bigger in two to three months.

“Now’s a good time to see them brand-new and all wound up. They’re fun to watch,” she said.

The elk started calving in late May, en route to their summer range in the higher elevations of Yellowstone. Unlike the bison, the elk like to have their babies in private, Clark said, so it is rare to see calving. But elk calves can be spotted on the Northern Range of Lamar Valley and possibly in the forested Madison and Gibbon River areas.

The grizzlies and black bears have been up and about since early April, when adult males come out of winter dens. Mothers and their cubs, which are born in the dens in January and February, come out a few weeks later. The best places to see them are in Lamar Valley, the Antelope Creek area and Hayden Valley.

Moose are more elusive than the other large animals. They calve in early June.

Pronghorn antelope also start calving in early June, Clark said. They are most commonly found in the northern end of the park and Lamar Valley.

“They’re really fun to watch. They’re little speed demons,” she said.

As for the wolves, pups are born in April and lay low through the summer until they can move around on their own.

“Anytime, there’s a chance you might get lucky enough to see wolves,” Clark said.

New park facilities opened recently. The second phase of the Old Faithful Snow Lodge opened in May, and the Dunraven Lodge in the Grand Canyon area of Yellowstone early this month.

The Snow Lodge has 100 guest rooms, a family restaurant and lounge, fast-food restaurant, ski rental shop and heavy timber construction. All pine and cedar timbers used in the construction came from older buildings that were being demolished. Rooms start at $128 plus tax. The first phase of the lodge won the Cody Award for Western Design in October for recognition of its rustic design and furnishings, such as animal motif chairs and lamps.

The Dunraven Lodge replaced some older cabins built in the 1960s and features 44 rooms, including five that are handicapped-accessible. The frame construction lodge is trimmed with log and rocks and made to blend in with the environment. Rooms are $105 plus tax per night for one or two people.

For more information, call Amfac Parks & Resorts reservations at (307) 344-7311, or visit their Web site at www.travelyellowstone.com.

If you want to explore the park beyond a short hike or ranger tour based from a lodge, you can take advantage of the Yellowstone Institute, which combines learning with a vacation setting. Many classes, which are based out of the historic Buffalo Ranch in the sweeping Lamar Valley in the Northern Range area of the park, take you on hands-on field trips throughout Yellowstone.

Some classes can be taken for college credit, and others involve the whole family.

For more information on the institute, availability, dates and costs, call (307) 344-2294.