Morning Glory Pool is one of the most famous geysers in Yellowstone National Park. But it was precisely its popularity that negatively affected it, because in the past, tourists carelessly threw their garbage there again and again. And this damaged the natural wonder, probably with irreparable consequences.
The eruption of a geyser is undoubtedly one of the most impressive natural wonders imaginable. Yellowstone National Park in the United States is particularly rich in these water fountains, and one of the most famous is the Morning Glory Pool. It was once named after the morning glory flower. Because just like the plant, its water exhibited a unique blue tint. But that was once.
Anyone who visits the Morning Glory Pool today will still be impressed. Its water is still blue in many places, but now it shines more and more in shades of yellow and orange at the edges of the pool. And as beautiful as these colors are to look at, they tell the story of unprecedented pollution. And this continues today. It’s the fault of the likes of them Official site of Yellowstone National Park reported.
Garbage cans for tourists for decades
According to this, the numerous visitors who marveled at the Morning Glory Pool every day have simply carelessly thrown their garbage into the blue water for decades. But not only that, coins, stones and branches were also arbitrarily thrown into the pool by tourists. The pollution reached such proportions that by the 1950s the geyser was despised as a “garbage can”. But at that time no one could imagine the environmental catastrophe that waste would cause.
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Such amounts of debris ended up in the Morning Glory Pool that it eventually began to clog its submerged air shafts. You need to know the following: The geyser has an average temperature of 70.7 degrees Celsius, with warm air from inside the earth heating up the water. And it was in this very hot water that the bacteria that colored the pool in such a unique blue once thrived. When the air ducts became clogged, the water in the pool cooled.
The damage is probably irreparable
This in turn led to other microorganisms becoming established. And these gradually colored the pool with the colors we see today. Because yellow and orange colored bacteria prefer cooler water. Since then, however, the bacteria responsible for the morning glory pool’s blueness have been in retreat.
Like the Yellowstone National Park Volcanic Observatory on the page “National Park traveller‘ reported, the pollution was mainly due to the fact that the geyser was easily accessible by car. In the 1970s, park rangers were so concerned about the condition of the Morning Glory Pool that they partially drained it to remove debris. However, their efforts were in vain and they failed to reverse the discoloration of the water.
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The vandalism continues
And still today the waste problem is far from under control. On the contrary: according to the official tourism website “Visit the United Statesthere are now even hopes that the geyser will “heal” itself, simply spewing garbage during its erratic eruptions. However, scientists at the Vulcan Observatory fear it may never be as blue as it once was. And according to the national park website, vandalism at the Morning Glory Pool continues. People keep throwing garbage in the water here.
Anyone observing such a crime should report it to a ranger. But as long as a national park also brings profit, there is a fear that the garbage will end up in the geyser in the future. Meanwhile, only signs point to the dramatic situation surrounding America’s natural wonders. They say “Please don’t throw anything in the pool”. Only you have to mention it is a really sad testimony.
