Morning Glory Pool

Morning Glory Pool
Morning Glory Pool
Name origin	Named by Mrs. E. N. McGowan, wife of Assistant Superintendent Charles McGowan, 1883
Location	Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA
Coordinates	44°28′30″N 110°50′37″W / 44.4750325°N 110.8435128°WCoordinates: 44°28′30″N 110°50′37″W / 44.4750325°N 110.8435128°W[1]
Elevation	7,300 feet (2,225 m) [2]
Type	Hot spring
Temperature	69.8 °C (157.6 °F)[1]
Depth	23 ft.
Northern section of Upper Geyser Basin

Morning Glory Pool is a hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.

History

The pool was named by Mrs E. N. McGowan, wife of Assistant Park Superintendent, Charles McGowan in 1883. She called it "Convolutus", the Latin name for the morning glory flower, which the spring resembles. By 1889, the name Morning Glory Pool had become common usage in the park.^[3] Many early guidebooks called this feature Morning Glory Spring.

Composition

The distinct color of the pool is due to bacteria which inhabit the water. On a few rare occasions the Morning Glory Pool has erupted as a geyser, usually following an earthquake or other nearby seismic activity.

Several entryways have been clogged due to objects being thrown in by tourists, reducing the hot water supply, and in turn altering the overall appearance of the pool. Several attempts by park officials to artificially induce eruptions to clear the pool of debris and clear blocked entryways have been met with mixed results.^[4] An interpretive sign, placed near the pool by the park service, discusses the damage caused by ignorance and vandalism and suggests that Morning Glory is becoming a "Faded Glory."^[5]

References

1. "Morning Glory Pool". Yellowstone Geothermal Features Database. Montana State University.
2. "Morning Glory Pool". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
3. Haines, Aubrey L. (1996). Yellowstone Place Names-Mirrors of History. Niwot, Colorado: University Press of Colorado. p. 153. ISBN 0-87081-382-X.
4. "Morning Glory Pool". National Park Service. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
5. "Point of Interest Road Signs - Fading Glory". National Park Service sign. Photo by Point of Interest Road Signs. June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2009.

Gallery

Images of Morning Glory Pool
Jack Ellis Haynes, 1916  1966  1970  2005  2014