There is no other geyser in the world quite like Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone National Park of northwest Wyoming. It is located in the Lower Geyser Basin, but along Firehole Lake Drive in the White Creek region of the basin. Here will found be a large set of travertine terraces, in more or less a circular shape, steeping up towards a central pool that may or may not be filled yet depending on the length of time since its previous eruption. Even if an eruption is not happening, the terraces themselves can be a beautiful subject for photography, such as this image captured by The Wild Images Team at sunset just before the initial eruption one evening. Great Fountain Geyser is relatively predictable with careful observation. Often the most helpful clue is the moment that the water filling up the pool overflows its edges; this indicates that the eruption should be occurring somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half later. Without this knowledge, it is only possible to guess the next eruption within a four hour window, causing longer waiting intervals. But of course it is worth the wait to catch an eruption whenever possible. It begins with a strong boil happening in the pool. Often this will happen multiple times between moments of relative calm, but with a moment of vigorous boiling the central pool will suddenly burst upward in heights easily topping 200 feet. So much water pours out with this very initial burst that it causes waves to cascade over the successive terraces as seen in the photo above. A fraction of a second later from this shot, The Wild Images Team captured their famous sister image that is available for sale in our store. After the massive initial burst, water in the pool tends to be lower so no more waves are seen for the remainder of the eruption. However, the continuing bursts can easily reach the same height as the initial, or even higher! The eruption will be comprised of a succession of bursts for a few minutes, after which the whole system will go quiet. Most people in the area will mistakenly believe the eruption is over, and will leave, missing the majority of the eruption. This moment is known as its first pause. A few minutes later, a vigorous boil will once again occur, and the next series of bursts will occur for a few minutes, before once again going quiet briefly during the second pause. And once again, more people will leave thinking that it now has to be over. However, it will come back to life yet again in the third series, and so on. The entire series eruptions and in between pauses will last for somewhere between 1 and 2 hours. It is highly recommended to watch the entire show. The Wild Images Team has observed numerous eruptions of Great Fountain Geyser, and often some its largest bursts occur in later series such as the third, fourth, or fifth series, if it lasts that long. It will vary anywhere between three up to nine series of bursts in a single eruption. An eruption is over when the next series does not occur within a reasonable amount of time, and the pool is drained. The next eruption is generally 10 to 14 hours later, so it will have only one eruption in the light of day at most. 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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