Castle Geyser is a cone type of geyser, as it erupts through a massive sinter cone structure whose crenelated top is reminiscent of a castle tower. Castle Gesyer is one of the major geysers of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming that is somewhat predictable. The somewhat refers to two different conditions. First of all, like all geysers including Old Faithful are not perfectly predictable on their eruption times. There is always an eruption window, the interval of time during which the eruption is almost certain to take place. For very predictable geysers like Old Faithful, this window is only 20 minutes. For Castle Geyser, this window is more like 3 hours. Second of all, Castle Geyser is not guaranteed to have a major eruption every time. While this is the more common result, at any point even before the window of eruption, it may suddenly push a column of water into the air for just a few minutes and then go quiet. This is known as a minor eruption. If this occurs, it becomes completely unpredictable until its next major eruption occurs, which can be several hours to over a day later. But the major eruption is unmistakable. It is preceded with violent bursts of water thrown over the sinter cone. This continues on for up to 20 minutes or so. Eventually, a rush of water will pour through the sinter cone, reaching heights of up to 90 feet, and be held steady for several minutes. During this time, water will cascade over the terraces of the cone. The water column will gradually diminish in height, until it reaches heights of about 30 feet or so. It was at this point that The Wild Images Team captured this photo at the lucky moment of sunset, complete with a large, beautiful rainbow that is reflected in the water surface below. A sister image from this same series is available for sale in our store, that is how perfect conditions were on this particular day. But the eruption here is far from over. The water column will eventually cease being constant, and instead the eruption will alternate between wet steam and water spray that is known as the mixed water-steam phase. But the eruption is still far from over, and is about to enter into the most unique, most fascinating, and longest lasting feature of Castle Geyser: the steam phase. While most people who witness the eruption will believe it to be over now and walk away, the splashes of water will disappear, the steam will dry up into very fine particulates, and will come rushing out of the sinter cone with an absolute roar that can be heard a mile away. It leaves the opening with such force and speed that a constant vortex can be seen at its center. This steam phase will continue for up to 45 minutes, and will begin to diminish in force, speed, and noise at the end until it becomes just a gently steaming event. Castle Geyser is a particular favorite of our Coordinator, Christina, due to the steam phase, and we have observed many eruptions of it. This evening and its image were very special though. 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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