Miles away from Old Faithful Geyser, down a lonely dirt path that accesses the most northern reaches of the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park of Wyoming. It is along here that in a clearing can be found Artemisia Geyser. A regular, yet very infrequent erupting geyser, to the few visitors who make their way out here, it is found as a quietly steaming and very deep pool. It has a strong greenish blue color reminiscent of the Artemisia family of plants, which includes mugworts, wormwoods, and sagebrush. Even during its long quiet periods, it is an absolutely breathtaking pool lying below the trail, well worth the distance to reach it. With much patience, though, its powerful eruption is something to behold. It erupts just once in an interval anywhere between 14 hours and 34 hours, for an eruption window of 20 hours. It is not possible to predict precisely when the next eruption will occur, though close observation after the previous eruption when its rising waters eventually first fill some of the named geyserite features surrounding its pool, such as the duck, the mustache, or the boot, may help to narrow the eruption window a bit more. This is an imperfect science however, and the only way to ensure witnessing an eruption is to patiently wait. The Wild Images Team has watched numerous eruptions of Artemisia Geyser, and have had wait times as short as 5 minutes (sheer luck) and as long as 13 hours (dedication). We know to bring food with us during a trek out this far, as the uncertainty of the eruption can make for a long day. One thing is certain though: if the height of the pool is found to be anywhere below the edge of overflow, an eruption has happened within the last few hours and it will not happen again for quite a long time. But if the pool is overflowing, and has filled some of the named features around, all that is left to do is wait. Nicely there are plenty of trees around to provide shade, there are rocks or logs to sit on, and the entire location is peaceful and quiet. There is plenty of side entertainment to fill the time. The backdrop beyond the drainage channels is a common path for wildlife, especially bison, to travel between the lower grazing areas and the fields around the Upper Geyser Basin. Yellow bellied marmots live in the surrounding rocks and will occasionally make an appearance. In the early evening, coyotes will sometimes be seen following the dirt trail, coming within feet of you. And then there is Atomizer Geyser, seen as the small humps in a separated geyserite area at the far left center portion of the photo. It erupts in a series of five to eight minor eruptions about an hour apart, before eventually having a major eruption that reaches up to 50 feet and that lasts around 10 minutes. The major eruption completely depletes its reservoir water causing it to become quiet in a refill period that lasts at least six hours. Then there is Artemisia Geyser. At some point, without warning, the entire surrounding land will shake with loud thumping behavior. The eruption has begun. Within seconds, the entire large pool will rise up and start pouring water about a foot deep down all of the runoff channels, which nearly completely surround it. This enormous volume of runoff will continue for the entire eruption, outputting thousands of gallons of water. Massive bursts will rise up at the center of the pool, easily reaching heights of 30 feet. What was once a quiet, peacefully steaming pool has become a roiling, violent maelstrom. A stunning sister image of this same eruption, taken from a different angle, is available for purchase in our store. The eruption will last for about 30 minutes, after which, with all of its water and energy expended, it will once again become a quietly steaming pool, though now several feet lower. It will then slowly refill over the course of several hours before reaching overflow, and then for several more hours after this, slowly setting up the next eruption. 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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