West Thumb Geyser Basin is one of the smallest geysers basins located in Yellowstone National Park, but it is the most scenic being located along the shores of the Yellowstone Lake. The Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake at high elevations in North America. The West Thumb Basin is made up of hot springs, colored pools, mud pots, fumaroles and geysers in and along the shore of the lake. One of the most famous geysers in the lake, Fishing Cone, was described in 1870 by member of the Washburn Expedition. The story was told of catching a trout in the lake and swinging it around and dipping it in the boiling pool and cooking the fish without taking it off the line! The geysers in West Thumb pump 3,100 gallons of hot water into the lake daily. Large colonies of algae, cyanobacteria, thermophiler and other heat loving micro-organisms tint the pools with brilliant colors. |
