Hydrothermal features are one of the highlights of Yellowstone National Park, and they're perhaps the most dangerous attraction, as well.
On Instagram, Tourons of Yellowstone (@touronsofyellowstone) recently shared another video of tourists flouting park rules — and disregarding their own safety.
The clip was captured by Kamie Porro (@tx88k) and showed three people, including two children, walking on the fragile crust of Grand Prismatic Spring.
"They eventually came back to the boardwalk and several people said stuff to them and they acted arrogant. Not surprised. Having his kids out there is what was really infuriating," Porro wrote in the caption.
"People like that are infuriating!" one commenter agreed. "They ruin places for all of us!!"
Another replied: "And they do this stupid behavior all for a 'selfie'!"
That doesn't even address the danger of the situation.
The park is home to 10,000-plus hot springs, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles, and Grand Prismatic is its largest hot spring. Trillions of thermophiles produce its vibrant colors.
At the hot spring, rainwater penetrates the Yellowstone bedrock, is superheated by magma, "cools as it reaches the surface, sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below," according to the National Park Service.
The circulation keeps the temperature low enough to prevent an eruption.
Yellowstone guests are told to stay on boardwalks and trails, as the hot springs have killed more than 20 people who were burned when they entered or fell into the natural features.
"Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs," NPS states.
The hydrothermal areas also emit toxic gases, which can "accumulate to dangerous levels."
The perilousness of the trio's behavior cannot be overstated.
It also echoes other maddening — yet not super dangerous — actions in the outdoors, such as when a group of visitors blatantly disregarded a "closed for revegetation" sign at White River National Forest in Colorado.
And it's certainly not the first time a Yellowstone visitor has risked a deadly mishap. Tourons — a portmanteau of "tourist" and "moron" — have committed ridiculously treacherous acts at these thermal areas, from pretending to warm their hands in steam to walking barefoot across a surface.
"I have memories, 30+ years ago, of my dad letting us know to not please not step on the Cryptobiotic soil crust in Southern Utah," one commenter wrote. "Understanding the ecosystem is essential. Decimating these organisms that have been doing us their service for millennia is hard to see. As with Moab areas, keep the delicate system and your children alive."
Another proposed a solution: "Fine these dummies heavily then ban them! We could use the revenue for the park and its rangers."
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