It’s Trivia Tuesday folks! Did you know there are now 424 units within the National Park System? These units cover more than 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories. With so many units, there’s plenty to learn, which is why I pen a monthly quiz and trivia piece for the National Parks Traveler. Sure, you know a lot about your job role where ever you work, but how much do you know about national parks?
Click on the image above to go to the quiz.
The image you see here is of Spruce Tree House in Mesa Verde National Park. True or False: it’s the largest cliff dwelling in the park. To find out the answer, go to the quiz and look at the bottom of the piece. But, wait, why not just test your knowledge by looking at the entire quiz first, then reading the trivia, *then* checking the answers. You might learn something new with which to impress friends, family, and co-workers.
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It’s #funfactFriday folks! And today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler features a contribution from the Caldera Chronicles, a weekly feature produced by collaboration by scientists and the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Today’s article is all about how the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone came into being. Granted, it’s not like the Grand Canyon of Arizona, but it’s a pretty cool (and colorful) place all on it’s own, “Stretching from the Lower Falls to the Tower Falls area, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is about 28 km (17 miles) long, 250–350 meters (820–1150 feet) deep, and 450–1200 meters (1500–4000 feet) across. It appears to be a surprisingly young feature of the region, having mostly formed during and immediately following the last ice age, within the past 20,000 years or so. “
To read more about this and view the video, click the image above.
These shots were captured during my autumn 2019 visit to Yellowstone National Park. I’d wanted to see the Lower Falls area back during the summer of 2018, as I made my way from TX to WA, but the crowds were horrendous and there was absolutely no place to park – seriously, every single parking space was filled. On the other hand, this visit resulting in these images was great – definitely no crowds.
How about a little rime ice to go with that tree, Ma’am.
Rime ice. There’s a question about it in today’s quiz and trivia piece I penned for the National Parks Traveler. It’s the winter 2022 edition. Why not go and check it out. You might learn something new about one or more units of the National Park System.
To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on the image above.
This particular image was captured during a snowcoach stop at Beryl Spring in Yellowstone National Park. Beryl Spring is a prolific steamer and all those freezing steam droplets land on whatever tree or fence railing is nearby. It can build up over a relatively short period of time in the winter there. And it’s amazing to look at close up.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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It’s time to check out this month’s quiz and trivia piece I wrote for the National Parks Traveler. How much *do* you know about the units of the National Park System?
One of the questions in the quiz – actually, the very first question – deals with the images (one of them, anyway) you see above of the large dacite boulder seen in the Devastated Area of Lassen Volcanic National Park. What are those round-ish things you see within the dacite bouler? Btw, dacite is an igneous rock that forms from viscous (thick, slow-flowing) lava. Those small white inclusions you see are bits of quartz.
To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on either image above.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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It’s time for another National Parks Quiz and Trivia piece, courtesy of yours truly and published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler. Just how much do you really know about the national parks and other protected lands of the National Park System? Find out with the multiple choice questions, followed by a bit of park trivia, followed by the answers. You might learn something new with which to dazzle your friends, family, and coworkers.
To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on the image above.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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Visit a unit of the National Park System and you might come across a raven giving you the once over, like I did during a 2021 trip to Yosemite National Park. In addition to their raspy croak/caw, how many other vocalizations do ravens have?
That’s one of the questions in this month’s quiz and trivia piece I penned for the National Parks Traveler. If you feel like stretching your mental muscles and testing your national park knowledge, click on the image above. The questions are multiple choice or True/False. Who knows – you might even learn something new or decide to travel to one of these park units mentioned in this quiz.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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A wake of water on Lake Chelan at Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, a part of the North Cascades National Park Complex in Washington state.
Water, water, everywhere … or maybe it’s water, water, used to be everywhere. Time to test your national parks knowledge and maybe learn something new with my latest quiz and trivia piece published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler.
To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on the image above.
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Wow, Beck, what a – um – er – lovely photo you have there (???)
Yes, all you smarty pants out there – it’s not my usual stunning landscape image. Instead, it’s a grab shot I captured of Liberty Cap travertine cone at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park during my first visit ever to this park in 2018. But, I’ll bet you don’t know how Liberty Cap got its name, do you?
That’s one of the quiz questions in National Parks Quiz and Trivia #51 published in today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler.
To take the quiz (and find out how Liberty Cap got its name) and read the trivia (and maybe learn something new about the National Park System), just click on the image above.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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Old Faithful erupting at Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National ParkHeart Spring in the foreground and the Lion Group of geysers in the background at Upper Geyser BasinThe scalloped edges of Doublet Pool at Upper Geyser BasinA bright bacterial mat leading toward a hot spring at Biscuit Basin.Geyser Beads
It’s #TriviaTuesday Folks! So, how many of you have ever visited one of the geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park, marveling at the colorful hot springs and the energetic geysers? Do you know how to tell if what you are looking at is a geyser or hot spring (if there is no sign to identify it)? Especially if a geyser, when not erupting, looks like a hot spring?
According to a cool little video on the NPS site for Yellowstone, you should look at the edges of a thermal feature. “Hot springs often have ledges or walls of sinter (silica deposits) around them, because as the water level fluctuates, it leaves behind silica deposits. The edges may even be scalloped or lacy, such as what you see when looking at Doublet Pool in Upper Geyser Basin.
“Beadwork,” or pebbly-looking sinter indicates a geyser. “As the water splashes with each eruption, it deposits silica, creating a bumpy appearance.” At some geysers that look like hot springs, you’ll notice rounded, riverstone-like pebbles beneath the water. These rounded stones are called “geyser eggs” and are formed by silica deposition and water movement.
Colorful orange and yellow bacterial mats are also good indicators of hot springs, since that means the water is warm enough for thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria to thrive, but not hot enough to be a geyser.
The thing is, the landscape beneath and above Yellowstone is always changing. Excelsior Crater Geyser used to be a geyser, and is now a hot spring – well, it’s a hot spring right now that hasn’t erupted in several decades, but it could become a geyser again if the conditions change.
A winter view of a portion of Excelsior Geyser Crater at Midway Basin in Yellowstone National Park
Here’s a winter view of a portion of Excelsior Geyser Crater at Midway Basin in Yellowstone National Park. I couldn’t get the entire view through the particular lens I had on the camera that morning, and it would have been difficult to see anyway because of all the steam issuing from this geyser crater.
I posted this image because there is a question about Excelsior Geyser Crater on today’s quiz and trivia piece that I wrote for the National Parks Traveler. It’s all about Yellowstone National Park because March marks the 150th birthday for this world’s first national park.
How much do you really know about Yellowstone National Park? To take the quiz and read the trivia, click on the image above.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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You can reach me at rebeccalatson@wherethetrailstakeyou.com
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