We forget that 60% of Yellowstone was devastated by fire in 1988 or that constant change and transformation is the primary rule of nature. All over the park there is evidence of the resurgence of growth that follows destruction. Indeed, some trees cannot reproduce except with the help of intense heat. Along a hiking path you may discover a puddle teeming with masses of eggs. But, the vast deepness underlying much of the park is a geological just-below-the-surface hot spot releasing huge amounts of energy from the magma. With two-thirds of the geysers in the world and mud pots, fumaroles, and thermal pools all in a concentrated area, portions of Yellowstone feel like a visit to the nether world. Dante would have loved it. You can’t help being dazzled by the beautiful patterns created by the bacteria thriving in this alternate world, boiling up from regions beneath. Watching the excellent Park Service film at Old Faithful makes you question the sanity of staying for even five minutes in the world’s most seductive anteroom to Hades.
