Old Faithful Does Something In Winter Most Have Never Seen
There are a few things about Yellowstone's Old Faithful that you probably did not know, or were told wrong.
Plus one interesting event that happens at the geyser in the winter which few people have ever witnessed.
You were probably told that Old Faithful sits on top of a magma chamber.
That's partially true.
The magma chamber is mostly crystalized.
That means it's not "eruptible."
We are not going to see a bunch of molten lava come up out of it.
But then there is that one thing you'll never get to really experience unless you are there in the dead of winter when the temperature is sub-zero.
You've probably seen videos of people stepping outside in subzero temperatures with a cup of boiling water.
They toss the water into the sky and some turn into steam while the rest falls as instant snow.
Well - Old Faithful does that, but on a much bigger scale.
When the temperatures are subzero most people don't want to visit the park.
Old Faithful continues to erupt, unwatched.
But if you were on the spot during that time you would see water spit out and turn into instant steam.
Then, it would begin to snow around you.
That's right, Old Faithful just made instant snow, in the same way, that tossing boiling water into the air does.
You can watch it on the video, below, but you'll not really get the sense of how beautiful it is unless you're there watching it happen.