Daily Jim pic 14


And we return to this bizarre landscape in Yellowstone National Park, with a series of odd pools. Here’s how I think they developed (you’re not really expecting me to do research for these posts, are you? That’s Jim’s job!):

Layered geologic strata weathers away over time, leaving a series of stepped slopes. Water that appears periodically, washes along, but as it stops it read more

Daily Jim pic 13


I’m conflicted on whether I like the anachronistic nature of this one, or am put off by it. The desolate, almost-barren nature of the landscape is contrasted by the blue sky and fluffy clouds – it really needs a dark and moody overcast, or maybe a pestilential deep red sunset. And then someone dressed in rags off to one side – long and tattered rags, mind you, read more

Daily Jim pic 12


Going slightly out of order with this one, just to break up two similar images. We’re just going to see how incorrectly I’m interpreting this one, but I see this as a drainage area for geysers and/or hot springs, and the yellow-tan color denotes the most recent still-damp runoff. As mentioned earlier, the mineral content in the water is off the scale, and much of the read more

Daily Jim pic 11


This one also got into the ‘Too cool’ category, and it’s a favorite of mine. This is (I’m pretty sure – again, Jim didn’t tell me when he sent the stack of photos) a geothermal vent that passes through a layer of grey clay, and so produces a witches cauldron of bubbling mud. And Jim was able to capture one of the bubbles as it popped. It’s read more

Daily Jim pic 10


We’re still in Yellowstone Park, looking at the spring water sources. If I’m interpreting this one correctly, there are at least two different subterranean channels feeding this pool, apparently passing through different types of minerals/metals. The one centered in this image, I’m almost certain, is showing a high iron content, so yes, that’s rust. But as read more

Daily Jim pic 8


If you’ve ever wondered where they get the water to make those colorful freezer pops, it’s Yellowstone National Park. This is the ambiguous “berry” pool.

Actually, I think this is from copper, but I could be wrong. Either way, there are enough minerals in the waters of the park to -… I can’t think of a good analogy, but there are a lot. Yellowstone has water that read more

Daily Jim pic 7


And so we move on to Yellowstone Park, and a torrent in an as-yet-unidentified river. That stark dead tree is a strong element, but notice that it’s actually two trees, and the grey one contrasts nicely against the deep green of the background trees while the smaller still-living one sets off against the water.

However, I’ll never forgive Jim for not getting a bear catching a salmon in read more