White Dome Geyser stands like a solitary beacon in the remote Tangled Creek region of the Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park of Wyoming. About a half mile away from the nearest geysers in either direction, Great Fountain Geyser to the southwest, and Pink Cone Geyser to the northwest, it stands out in its isolation. While it technically does have four small companion geysers in its group, Pebble Geyser, Crack Geyser, Rejuvenated Geyser, and Gemini Geyser, White Dome Geyser is by far the most prominent feature in the area. Standing atop a ten foot tall mound of eroded geyserite, covered at a distance with grasses, is yet another fifteen foot tall mound of geyserite, this one more rugged and colorful, from which the geyser erupts and from which it has been named. The siliceous sinter geyserite composing its structure is very old; it has been estimated that White Dome Geyser has been erupting in this same location for tens of thousands of years at the very least. Over that lengthy span of time, it has been slowly adding to its geyserite formation by depositing thin layers, atom by atom, during each eruption. The tall formation that has resulted can now be seen from miles away. Since it is a very active geyser, thermophile bacteria has colonized over a substantial portion of its geyserite, adding the orange hues that are especially prominent near its top where water is more likely to splashdown. The eroded geyserite on which it stands is covered with yellow grasses to add further color to the scene. White Dome Geyser has been a favorite photographic target for The Wild Images Team. We have captured photos at different times of the day and in a variety of weather conditions. For this particular image, we waited for many days until several conditions combined together. We wanted to capture an eruption at sunset, so that the reddening light draws out the orange and yellow tones of the scene. But we also wanted a sky that had darker and denser water bearing clouds in the background of the vertical column of water, to greatly contrast its evening glow in the sunlight. All of these came together on this particular night! An absolutely breathtaking sister image of this above photo was captured in the same series and is available for sale in our store. This was a tall order for White Dome Geyser. While it is a very active geyser, not having any recorded periods of dormancy, it is also very unpredictable. It can have intervals between eruptions as short as 10 minutes, and as long as several hours. From our experience of observing many of its eruptions, it tends to have intervals between eruptions most commonly around 40 minutes, give or take about 20 minutes. The only way to be sure to see it is to patiently wait. But compared to the many other geysers that we have waited for, this one tends to be a short and manageable wait. As it approaches closer to an eruption, water will often start being thrown out of its opening on top of the sinter cone. This can happen for several minutes before that start of an eruption. Other times, however, it may just start erupting without any indication. The eruption start is obvious, as the vertical column of water rises up to about 30 feet above the top of the cone, and continues to be held for the next few minutes until it slowly dies down into a short steam phase. It is a beautiful eruption to witness, though few visitors take the time to watch it. The White Dome Geyser Group has a huge importance in modern science. A nearby thermal hot spring named the Mushroom Pool is where Thomas D. Brock and Hudson Freeze of Indiana University first discovered the thermus aquaticus bacteria that is the source of the heat resistant enzyme Taq DNA polymerase, one of the most important enzymes ever discovered. The heat-resistant enzyme Taq DNA polymerase is used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA amplification technique, which has an enormous amount of applications including the monitoring of genetic disorders, the early detection of cancerous cells, the forensic science at crime scenes, the parentage testing and ancestry analysis, and the diagnosis of infectious diseases, not the least of which is the testing for COVID-19. The Wild Images Team has captured many other photos in Yellowstone National Park including a Beehive Geyser eruption with a massive rainbow, the world famous Old Faithful Geyser with water textures, a towering Grand Geyser pause burst eruption, a sunset Castle Geyser eruption with a bright rainbow, an afternoon Riverside Geyser eruption with a rainbow, an early morning Lion Geyser eruption with a rainbow, a very difficult to catch Oblong Geyser blue burst eruption, the extremely powerful Artemisia Geyser eruption with deep bursts, the very moment of waves from a Great Fountain Geyser initial eruption, an iconic White Dome Geyser eruption at sunset, the large bursts of a Fountain Geyser eruption in steam, the delicate red light on a Grotto Fountain Geyser eruption at sunset, the defining moment of a Rocket Geyser eruption at sunset, the extremely brief Aurum Geyser eruption with colors, a view through a Cliff Geyser eruption of Black Sand Basin, the colorful patterns of bacterial mats in Midway Geyser Basin, the changing conditions that cause a rainbow to parallel the Snow Lodge, the Biscuit Basin duo of Black Diamond Pool and Opal Pool, the colorfully pock marked waterways of the erupting Blood Geyser, the active steppes of the Mineral Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs, the distant double rainbow over the Lewis River Canyon, the before eruption reflections of sunset over the terraces of Great Fountain Geyser, the deep colors of sky reflections over Beauty Pool, the thermally induced sunset light filters through the steamy trees, the intense moment of mammatus clouds over the Firehole River, the very early morning fog surrounding Lower Yellowstone Falls, the runoff created reflections over the colorful runoff pan of Constant Geyser, the unworldly terrain of the extensive Porcelain Geyser Basin in Norris, the deeply hued steam over colorful bacterial mat reflections of Grand Prismatic Spring, the contrast of runoff channels surrounding the blue superheated water of Sapphire Pool, differing wave patterns created by the colorful submerged Fishing Cone Geyser, the strong green created by the record depths of mysterious Abyss Pool, the moment the full moon rises over the Grant Village Lakehouse, the cloud symmetry of a sunset reflection over a calm Yellowstone Lake, and moments earlier with a cloud shelf reflection over a calm Yellowstone Lake, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from Yellowstone National Park have documented the Old Faithful Geyser eruptions, the steamy Oblong Geyser eruptions, the deep drain Uncertain Geyser eruptions, the steep crater Depression Geyser eruptions, the amphitheater Grand Geyser eruptions, the impressive Fan and Mortar Geyser eruptions, the very quick Aurum Geyser eruptions, the rooster tail Whirligig Geyser eruptions, the series type Lion Geyser eruptions, the tall grotto White Dome Geyser eruptions, the frequent Sawmill Geyser eruptions, the double cone Atomizer Geyser eruptions, the nozzled Beehive Geyser eruptions, the cratered Fountain Geyser eruptions, the deep pool Artemisia Geyser eruptions, the playful Vixen Geyser eruptions, the scenic Riverside Geyser eruptions, the very rare Ledge Geyser eruptions from above, the very rare Ledge Geyser eruptions from below, the gurgling Tilt’s Baby Geyser eruptions, the bursts of Great Fountain Geyser eruptions, the hidden Dome Geyser eruptions, the tilted Daisy Geyser eruptions, the remote Pink Cone Geyser eruptions, the long Castle Geyser eruption water phases, the loud Castle Geyser eruption steam phases, the stark Constant Geyser eruptions, the rim wall Cliff Geyser eruptions, the initiation from Grotto Fountain Geyser eruptions, the continuation of Grotto Geyser eruptions, the defining moment of Rocket Geyser eruptions, the marathon Spa Geyser eruptions, the blue waters of a Spouter Geyser eruption, the isolated Artist Paint Pots throwing mud, the little seen intricate burst of a mud volcano, a view of a dozen visitors under a Beehive Geyser rainbow, the eruption through numerous vents of Fan and Mortar Geysers, the enormous amount of water through the runoff channels of Excelsior Geyser, the otherworldly view of cloudy blue runoff pools in the Porcelain Basin, the moment that a large bison bull rolled in his claimed dirt pile, the rule for the right of way wildlife, the high altitudes where a large raven that perches over the Dunraven Pass, the the day that a phoenix streaked across the backcountry sky, the trail from Grant Village that crosses over this suspended bridge, The Wild Images Team in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, our Photographer Jeremy Robinson shadowed in Morning Glory Pool, and The Wild Images Team Travel Gnome at the Yellowstone National Park entrance sign.
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