The Bubbling Mud of Yellowstone

In the middle of Montana, Yellowstone National Park sits on what is now considered the largest Super Volcano in the world.  All around this park, signs of internal distress within the earths crust is evident.  No where is this more evident than in the multitude of bubbling mud pots that collect almost everywhere within the park.  Mud Pots are sorts of acidic hot springs that contain a limited amount of extremely hot water and lots of mud.  What you get when these mud pots develop is a little bit of boiling water under the crust of the earth and lots of mud.  The mud pots because they have various colors within the park are also called paint pots because they resemble artist pools of different colored paint.  The only difference is that the mud pots are boiling and mud is flying everywhere.  The mud pots produce this really cool steam but the steam smells like boiled eggs and actually makes your eyes burn.  You want to stay around the mud pots, but the tremendous amounts of steam, fog and general bad smell make you want to leave after a little bit.

These mud pots spell trouble for dogs and travelers to the park.  Just a couple of months ago, a dog jumped into the area where the mud pots were and cracked through the crust and literally boiled himself alive.  The owners friend, jumped in the pot to save the dog but alas he fell to the same fate.  One generally does not want to venture off the beaten path in Yosemite because it is quite easy to break through the ground and end up in one of these boiling mud soup pots.  It is quite an amazing place, full of beauty and danger.