Depression Geyser Erupts Near The Edge Of The Steep Slope Down From Geyser Hill To The Firehole River

No, Depression Geyser is not named for the state of its mental health. Instead, it is a very active and lively geyser named for the deep, vertically walled crater from which the eruption arises: a depression in the siliceous sinter, the material that covers the entirety of Geyser Hill, the prominent hill near the southern end of the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park of northwestern Wyoming. It is located within sight of the giant Beehive Geyser, of which is described in depth in this previous detailed blog post and also highlighted in an even earlier blog post. In the opposite direction, it is also in sight of the mighty Lion Geyser, the fascinating series type of erupting geyser. More distant away, and not within sight due to the rise in Geyser Hill, is the location of the ephemeral Aurum Geyser of which the eruption is described in depth in this previous detailed blog post. Then there is the high point of Dome Geyser, which is again is distant and out of sight due to the rise in Geyser Hill, but its interesting series type of eruptions are discussed thoroughly by this previous detailed blog post. The centerpiece of Geyser Hill, and a very powerful thermal feature, is Giantess Geyser, which spends most of its time as a large boiling pool constantly overflowing. Even though it is usually years between eruptions, once it does erupt it can continue the eruption for multiple days. There are several other geysers dotting the landscape of Geyser Hill, including Depression Geyser. While its eruptions are much smaller than some of the other aforementioned geysers, it is an entertaining thermal feature to observe, especially in between successive series eruptions of the somewhat nearby Lion Geyser. Like many other fountain type geysers, Depression Geyser continues from a previous eruption by slowly filling its emptied crater pool, which generally takes a few hours. Once full, it will begin cycling between low water, where the water level will sit inches below the crater rim, and high water, where it will begin pushing out significant amounts of water over the crater rim and down the steep runoff channels. The eruption will only begin from an interval of high water, but it is unpredictable during which high water interval it will erupt. The eruption can be anywhere from 5 hours apart to as long as 30 hours apart. Fortunately, the moments of high water are entertaining to observe, even if the eruption does not occur yet. The amount of water that is pushed out of its relatively small pool is quite impressive! Each high water interval lasts for a few minutes and are separated by low water intervals that last for much longer. As the cycles continue, they will begin pushing out even larger amounts of water and will start to show bubbles emanating from the two vents, one on the left and one on the right, both near the bottom of the pool. The eruption itself is always produced by at least the left vent, so bubbles emanating from the left vent can indicate that the eruption is either imminent or at least getting closer. Sometimes the right vent will also join in, but this is not always the case so bubbles from the right vent do not help to determine its activity. Eventually during one of its high water intervals, significant bubbles will begin flowing out of the left vent when suddenly the entire pool will be pushed up reaching heights of up to 10 feet. It will continues for several minutes of periodic bursts rising out of its pool while it continues to push out large amount of water down its runoff channels. As the eruption continues, the amount of water being pushed out of the crater will diminish until the water level drops below the rim of the crater. The heights of the bursts will decrease to just mere inches. However, it is worth the wait for the end of the eruption. The remaining water suddenly drains out through the two vents. If the right vent was active during the eruption, it will churn and gurgle with a sound reminiscent of a dishwasher. At this point all that it left its empty steaming crater, surrounded by vertical walls. The above image was captured during an early portion of its eruption when the runoff water was still significant. 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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