A Sawmill Geyser Eruption Makes Its Characteristic Whirring Sounds As It Bursts Water From The Pool

If there is one thing constant in Yellowstone National Park of Wyoming, it is change. thermal features will suddenly open up in the ground, while others will suddenly go quiet even after centuries of activity. It is this consistent change that makes the park such an enticing place for photography. Sawmill Geyser is one of the many thermal features found in the Upper Geyser Basin, and has been around for a long time, nearby to the mighty Grand Geyser, a stunning image of which is available for sale in our store. Sawmill Geyser is loved by all. As a matter if fact, there is an entire network of nearby geysers that are collectively called the Sawmill Group. All of the geysers in the Sawmill Group seem to be interconnected underground, as their eruptions are at the very least influenced by each other in some type of complex pattern, while some of the geysers will not erupt at all until the others are quiet. Sawmill Geyser was named during the Hayden Geological Expedition of 1871 by Antoine Schoenborn for two of its unique characteristics: due to its vent shape, bursts of water are sent upward in a rotating fashion, while the sputtering of water in its filled pool produces a constant background whirring sound. Put the two together, and it is reminiscent of the sights and sounds found in sawmills that were prominent in the country at the time. And through recorded history since the early surveys, Sawmill Geyser has continued to be a frequent performer, with long eruption intervals followed by quiet periods of only 1 to 3 hours. Like a reliable friend, Sawmill Geyser could always be counted on to be putting on a display. That is why it caught everyone by surprise when during the winter of 2016-2017, it just ceased erupting altogether. Sometime in very late January or very early February of 2017, Sawmill Geyser had one final eruption and just went dormant. The Wild Images Team visited Yellowstone National Park that 2017 season, and already the difference in the region around the Sawmill Group was apparent. The vibrant colors created by the extremophile bacteria were no longer present, as water was no longer running off of most of the geysers in the group, and the bacterial mats had dried up leaving a stark gray and white landscape. Sawmill Geyser would have a partially filled pool at most, never high enough for overflow, and it would just gently bubble. Nearby Penta Geyser, Churn Geyser, and Old Tardy Geyser were also completely silent. Spasmodic Geyser and Tardy Geyser were both very subdued. It was a sad sight, shutting down an entire section of thermal activity in the central part of the Upper Geyser Basin. But then just this past summer season, on June 24, 2021 sometime around 2 AM, Sawmill Geyser suddenly sprang back to life after four and a half years of dormancy! And furthermore, it has continued to erupt regularly since then almost as if the previous four and a half years never happened. But we say almost, because it still was not quite the same. On the same siliceous sinter platform of Sawmill Geyser is a small opening that drops rapidly down into the depths of the earth. Only during the times when Sawmill Geyser is not only quiet, but is in a deep drain characterized by no visible water in its pool, this small opening can rarely and unpredictably erupt in what as known as Uncertain Geyser. However, Uncertain Geyser had gone dormant before Sawmill Geyser did, and did not return when Sawmill Geyser started erupting again. That is until July 31, 2021, when out of nowhere it erupted again. Now that everything seems more or less back to normal there, Spasmodic Geyser initiates the system, by starting to spout through all of its crazy vents and pools, followed by Sawmill Geyser erupting most of the time, though rarely it will instead remain quiet while nearby Penta Geyser and Churn Geyser take over the eruption duties in what is known as the rare Penta-Churn mode. The Wild Images Team captured this image of Sawmill Geyser bursting from its colorful pool before it went dormant. 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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