Is the hot spring in Yellowstone real?

With an estimated 10,000 hydrothermal features, Yellowstone is a veritable treasure trove of geothermal wonders. The majority of these 10,000 features are hot springs, each one more breathtaking than the last. With literally thousands of hot springs in the park, which ones are the most iconic?



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A. No swimming is allowed in any of the park's thermal features because it is unsafe for visitors, as well as damaging to the resource. You are permitted to swim in waters that are fed by the runoff from the thermal features. One place you can swim is at the Boiling River at certain times of year.

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Over 20 people have died after falling into Yellowstone's hot springs, or after having become severely burned after touching one. The park's hot springs are one of the park's most dangerous features. However, deaths are still an incredibly rare event.

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Yellowstone National Park strictly prohibits visitors from touching, swimming, or soaking in hot springs.

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The Abyss Pool has a depth of up to 53 feet, according to the National Park Service. It has a temperature of approximately 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Water in these hot springs can “severely burn” visitors, the service warns on its website.

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Swimming in Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park isn't exactly known for its swimming holes. Due to the thermal activity in the park, most rivers and lakes in Yellowstone are closed to swimmers. However, if you're up for an adventure, the park has opened up a few alluring areas to the public.

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Can you drink alcohol in Yellowstone? Yes. You can easily enjoy a cold beer anywhere in Yellowstone National Park, so long as you're not driving. The Park regulations reflect the loose public drinking laws in the three states--Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming--through which the park ranges.

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This is a remarkable accumulation of buffalo bones on the floor of a hot spring in the River Group of Yellowstone's Lower Geyser Basin. The object at center is the skull of an American buffalo (Bison bison).

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Yellowstone sits above a melting anomaly within the Earth, called a “hotspot.” This hotspot is powered by a plume of hot (but not molten) material that may extend as deep as the boundary between the planet's mantle and core.

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However, Yellowstone is also an active geothermal area with hot springs emerging at ~92°C (~198°F) (the boiling point of water at Yellowstone's mean altitude) and steam vents reported as high as 135°C (275°F).

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Don't touch any water in or around thermal features. Never swim, soak, or wade in thermal features. More than 20 people have died from intentionally entering or falling into hot springs.

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1. Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone. This tallest geyser in the world set the highest temperature ever recorded in the park. It's so far above sea level that the boiling point is 199°F rather than the sea-level 212°, but a hole drilled by scientists to 1,087 feet deep found a temperature of 459°F.

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Two large reservoirs full of magma exist beneath the Yellowstone Caldera—one that's about three to ten miles beneath the surface, and another that's 12 to 30 miles below ground.

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