Those warnings at Yellowstone National Park are not just window dressing at one of the most iconic natural landscapes in the world.
So many things were thrown into Morning Glory Pool over the years that its deep blue water was changed forever, as the Cowboy State Daily reported. The problem arose shortly after the park became the first national park ever in 1872, and it continued for more than a century.
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Now, visitors don't toss coins, trash, or other items into one of Yellowstone's 10,000-plus geothermal features. In 1991, rangers cleaned out the pool, finding perhaps thousands of coins and hundreds of other objects. It was all new detritus, the outlet reported. The old stuff had long been lodged in the rock and sediment that line the pool.
"People didn't understand the plumbing and how geysers worked," Yellowstone historian Alicia Murphy told the Daily. "There were lots of ideas about, 'If we throw something into this pool, we might be able to make it erupt.'"
The pool today — with an average temperature of 159.3 degrees Fahrenheit — is green with yellow near the surface, similar to others in the Upper Geyser Basin. If you want to see how Morning Glory used to look, you'll have to use a time machine — though the nearby Abyss Pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin is similar, the Daily reported.
The color change was caused by a temperature change, the result of "thousands of pounds of trash and artifacts" thrown into the pool, Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, told the outlet.
"Temperature is a huge factor," he said. "Hotter pools tend to be a brilliant blue, and cooler pools can be more colorful since bacteria can grow there. At Morning Glory, the temperature cooled because people throwing objects in caused the conduit to become partially blocked, and the temperature went down, allowing different types of bacteria to grow."
The incredible features that Yellowstone is known for have also enticed visitors to ignore safety rules, which protect people, wildlife, and the environment. Dozens of people have been killed at the park just since 2007, according to Beck, Amsden, and Stalpes, so messing with the landscape is no laughing matter.
Respecting the park ensures everyone can enjoy the wonders of Yellowstone without the consequences of human interference.
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