A Double Eruption Of Major Geysers While A Double Rainbow Forms In The Early Morning Steam Of Lion Geyser

Two unconnected major geysers in Yellowstone National Park of Wyoming are erupting in this image. The more prominent eruption seen in the foreground is that of Lion Geyser. Its early morning initial eruption is producing a vibrant double rainbow in the steam curtain. An absolutely stunning sister image, captured moments before in the same eruption, is available for sale in our store. That is how special this morning was. The Wild Images Team has observed and photographed dozens of Lion Geyser eruptions in a variety of different atmospheric conditions and at various times throughout the day. Unlike several other geysers in the area that have a more preferable time of day for lighting, Lion Geyser tends to be ideal all day long from sunrise through afternoon for front lighting shots, and from late afternoon until sunset for back lighting shots. Many of the photos have been considered as candidates for our store, but this set was our first choice. Lion Geyser is one of the largest geysers that has a series type of eruptions. Like most series type erupting geysers, its first eruption in the series is the largest, with the subsequent eruptions all being about the same size but lower in height and water output compared to the initial. However, all eruptions in the series can be amazing to watch. The Wild Images Team spent this entire day watching every single subsequent eruption, starting with the initial eruption which is shown above, through 8 more subsequent eruptions for a total of 9 in that series. We did take photos of all of the subsequent eruptions throughout the day as lighting, background sky, and weather conditions changed. And of course we have captured images of series on different days and different seasons, all of which will eventually be posted here. Lion Geyser is located on the northern end of Geyser Hill, just before it drops off into the lower fields and forests. Geyser Hill itself is barren, with little vegetation except for small patches of grass here or there, so no shade is available. We always have umbrellas in our gear, and will use these for shade during the long waits. Nearby are three other geysers in its group, the dormant Big Cub Geyser, the dormant Lioness Geyser, and the perpetually erupting Little Cub Geyser to provide something to watch. The eruption of Lion Geyser is unpredictable and does require a good deal of patience. It interval between eruptions can vary anywhere from 10 hours to 17 hours, and does require knowledge of its previous eruptions. But there is a small vent on its front face that will begin to spurt and bubble out water during the last few hours before an imminent eruption. If the vent is not yet bubbling, the eruption is no time soon. But if it is bubbling and gurgling, it is worth the wait. As the eruption is about to happen, Lion Geyser will start to throw water out of its large vent and a deep underground boiling can be heard, reminiscent of a teakettle. Its initial eruption will eventually burst upward out of the cone up to heights of 80, often raining down over the surrounding boardwalks. It will hold this height for several minutes before dying away into a short steam phase and then going quiet. However, a little over an hour later it will come back to life in its second eruption of the series. Before this second eruption happens, it will send out a loud huff of steam, similar to the sound of a lion’s roar, hence the name of the geyser. The second eruption will be a bit shorter, but still very impressive, and will also die down into a steam phase. About an hour later, the third eruption will occur, and each successive one will also be about an hour apart. Each eruption of Lion Geyser will also begin with a lion roar, followed by the water column reaching similar heights before dying down into the short steam phase. It generally will produce somewhere between 3 and 5 eruptions, though it can be as many as 9, such as what occurred on this day. The end of the series will often occur with several lion huffs of steam that diminish in loudness, before the geyser goes quiet. Close inspection of the above photo will also show a simultaneous eruption of distant and unconnected Castle Geyser, found between the Lion Geyser cone and the left side of the lower rainbow. A very beautiful image of Castle Geyser, captured on a different day, is also available for sale in our store. In the viewpoint of that image, a quiet Lion Geyser can be seen in the distance as the feature on the lower right with a small cluster of pine trees grouping around its base, while above it and to the right of it is a portion of Geyser Hill. Castle Geyser has also been written about extensively in the two different previous blog posts. 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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