The Rare And Very Short Lived Eruption Of Aurum Geyser Is Surrounded By Beautiful Colors

This is Aurum Geyser, which is found on the eastern edge of Geyser Hill, which itself is in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Blink and you will miss it. Alright, it is not quite that short lived! But walk away and you will miss it. Literally. This geyser sits almost completely by itself, with just a few bubbling hot springs nearby to keep it company, so not too much is happening in the area until it erupts. And it erupts only about once, at most twice, a day during the short summer season in the altitudes of Yellowstone. The time of the eruption is completely unpredictable, it will usually be at least 10 hours or more until the next eruption; often it may not happen for 24 hours or more. When it does finally erupt, it lasts for only 80 seconds at most! It is over almost before it even began. So Aurum Geyser is an extremely difficult one to observe and photograph, at the very best. Its nearest regularly erupting neighbors of significant size are Lion Geyser, the series erupting geyser of which was written about extensively in an earlier blog post and of which a beautiful early morning rainbow photo is available for sale in our store, and Beehive Geyser which was also written about extensively in an earlier blog post during which the small group of observers were captured under the rainbow in this iconic blog entry image, and of which this enormous sunset rainbow photo is also available for sale in our store. However, each of these geysers are quite distant away from the solitude of Aurum Geyser, so that even running at full speed will not reach Aurum Geyser in time to see even the end of an eruption. In the very far distance, Old Faithful Geyser can be seen when it erupts, though it will appear small, very different from this gorgeous closeup photo captured at sunset and available for sale in our store. Considerably more nearby is the best viewpoint of Dome Geyser as detailed in this previous blog entry, but will require turning away from the direction of Aurum Geyser and it may erupt before turning back. As The Wild Images Team has learned from experience, it will do this often. We have spent hours waiting for it to erupt, only to have it happen as soon as we turn our back on it and walk away to watch one of the other geysers erupt. We have found that it is best to pair off Aurum Geyser with Lion Geyser, which has a large initial eruption, followed by a second eruption a little over an hour later, followed by a third eruption about an hour after that, and this pattern can continue with up to nine total eruptions each about an hour apart. This will allow a chance to get away when a nearby geyser is somewhat predictable, yet still keep a good percentage of the time devoted in the vicinity of Aurum Geyser. As we have already mentioned though, it will often erupt just after you walk away. So the only way to guarantee observing an eruption is to remain next to it for how ever many hours it may require. This can be up to an entire day spent in just this area, so patience is required and this is not recommended for those with limited time in Yellowstone National Park. Is this worth the wait? Absolutely, if you have the time. Aurum Geyser is named for the yellow colored geyserite surrounding its small cone, with Aurum being the Latin word for gold, hence it being designated as Au in the periodic table. Combine this with the surrounding orange geyserite, the yellow, orange, and red background grasses, the green pine trees, and the bright blue sky dotted by white clouds, and this is a perfect setting to capture a beautiful photo, such as this very stunning sister image taken just moments before and which is available for sale in our store. Its eruption can reach heights approaching 30 feet, and observed from such close proximity can be quite impressive. Just after a previous eruption, Aurum Geyser will be very briefly quiet. Within a few minutes, however, it will fill back up and begin gurgling and splashing from its main vent. Unfortunately, it will look essentially the same for the next 10 or more hours, so it is not possible to determine if an eruption is imminent. If it is seen splashing and gurgling, it may erupt within seconds or it may erupt 24 hours later, there is not much of a way to determine. The splashes do tend to become slightly larger as the hours go by, and there are two small side vents that tend to splash more as the hours go by, so very close observation can help to narrow down the interval to within perhaps 6 hours or so if you are lucky. The Wild Images Team has devoted many hours to photograph several eruptions of Aurum Geyser, and the series represented by the above photo is our favorite. Sadly, Aurum Geyser has appeared to have gone dormant this season, not having erupted in over four months. Only time will tell if this will end up being a long term dormancy. But at least you can enjoy the above photo and the link to the image available for sale in our store, with no wait required. Oh, and as an extra advantage, you can either blink or walk away and it will still be there! 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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