Yellowstone Has An Active Ancient Undersea Wasteland 7,300 Feet Above Sea Level

There’s an ancient a deep-sea adventure — no scuba gear or submarine required — in Wyoming at 7,300 feet above sea level.

The adventure is in Yellowstone National Park at Monument Geyser Basin, where there are some of the world’s most unique, cigar-shaped smoking stone cones on the planet. 

Normally, to see these kinds of “smokers” would take a trip 6,900 or more feet under the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where there are several tall smokers, belching what look like wisps of black or white smoke. 

Looks are deceiving though. The “smoke” is magma-heated water — up to 700 degrees in temperature — escaping from thermal vents.

The super-heated water, laden with salts and minerals float up from thermal vents. As the water gushes out, pushed by internal forces, it rapidly cools, dropping salts and minerals like snow all around the thermal vent. 

Over time, the deposits create these tall chimney-like spires, called smokers, because they look like they’re smoking despite being very far under the sea. 

Black smokers are so-named because the mineral-laden water appears black, thanks to dissolved sulfides. White smokers, on the other hand, which are typically cooler in temperature, look more like steam, thanks to minerals like barium, calcium and silica.

It’s A Mystery

Yellowstone is one of the most unique places in the world, with half of the world’s geysers in it. So, if there’s a place in the world where smokers would somehow magically appear above ground — where no smoker should be — Yellowstone would be it.

The smokers at Monument Geyser Basin are typically white, probably because of silica, with the occasional red streak — potentially iron or, more likely, arsenic compounds. 

Their uncanny resemblance to underwater smokers was noticed by Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, who did a YouTube video about the anomaly. 

“This kind of thermal area is very similar to the thermal area we have in Mud Volcano,” Poland told Cowboy State Daily. “And the Mud Volcano area, you don’t build up these kinds of big cones.”

Yellowstone National Park was once covered by a shallow sea that stretched from Alaska to the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico), but that can’t explain the smokers at Monument Geyser Basin.

That’s because long after the shallow sea receded, a glacier moved down into the area, burying it under a literal ton of ice and snow up to 2 miles thick in some places. 

“That ice would have just swept off any geyser structures,” Poland said. “And so, all of the geysers — the structures you see today, and the shapes of the geyser basin, all of the interesting looking cones and mounds and so forth — that’s all new in the last 14,000 years.”

Poland does have a theory on how smokers might have been created so far above sea level in Yellowstone National Park. 

Even though there was a very deep glacier scouring things clean, thermal activity would have continued throughout the Ice Age. 

“There would have been all of this hot, hydrothermal fluid coming out of the ground right at the base of some of this ice,” Poland said. “And so that would melt the ice locally and, perhaps, make that part of the glacier a little less stable.”

Thinner ice, thanks to hydrothermal activity, would set the tone for all kinds of complex geologic processes, including a glacial lake where smokers could have formed.

Poland’s theory likely won’t get any specific study, he said, but that doesn’t mean the mystery won’t ever be solved. 

“Monument Geyser Basin is a piece of a big story about how glacial activity occurred in Yellowstone,” Poland said. “And that particular problem is being looked at by a number of researchers to understand how the ice was flowing, how the water was moving. So, the Monument story may very well fall out from that overall kind of analysis.”

An Uncrowded Gem For The Adventurous At Heart

Regardless of whether the mystery of smokers in Yellowstone is solved any time soon, Monument Geyser Basin is a great summer hike for those with an adventurous spirit, who want to get away from the maddening crowds of the 4.1 million or so people dropping in on Yellowstone each year. 

“It’s not one of the more crowded places,” Poland said. “And that’s what I find odd about Monument. You might see one or two other people, but there’s not a lot of other people there.”

It is a relatively steep hike, Poland acknowledged, which may be why it’s a road much less traveled. But it’s not an overly long hike, despite that, and remains one of his favorites.

“What I think is interesting about Monument is, you’re sort of in the trees constantly, but, when you break out of the trees, you’re in this different landscape where nothing is growing,” he said. “And there’s a lot of vents that are hissing. So, it’s a really stark change in the landscape that comes up on you pretty suddenly.”

Hikers do need to stick to the trail, Poland added.

“There are some mud pots and stuff like that,” he said. “That can be pretty dangerous. You could break through really easily, and then you’ll get scalded by steam. But there’s sort of a viewing area in along the trees, where you can get a good view of what’s going on.”

Travelers might have to stick to the official trail, but there’s no rule against bringing a snorkel or toy submarine along for the hike. That way you’d have the perfect selfie to go along with this unique, under-sea adventure at 7,300 feet above sea level in Yellowstone National Park.

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.