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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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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Click on the image to go to the Traveler’s Quiz and Trivia #49
The National Parks Traveler has published my latest quiz and trivia piece. There’s plenty to learn about the 423 units within the National Park System. Just how much do you know? Click on the image and test your knowledge.
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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Sunlight reflections and paw and hoof prints on the shallow terraces at Midway Basin
Today’s edition of the National Parks Traveler has a great Feature Story about the challenges and stresses facing Yellowstone National Park. No, I didn’t write it – it was penned by Traveler correspondent Rita Beamish. She’s a fantastic journalist and you should go on over and read the article. Just click on the image above to go to the article.
As for this image: I had joined five others for a snowcoach tour during my February stay in this national park. One of the places we stopped was Midway Basin, and we had the entire spot to ourselves and our driver/tour leader April was fantastic at teaching us about the various parts of the area as well as of the park, as a whole.
Here’s the thing about a visit to Midway Basin, no matter what time of year. You’re not going to see the overall stunning beauty of Grand Prismatic Spring like you do from the overlook on the hillside behind the spring (accessed by the Fairy Falls Trail, with a detour up to the overlook). What you *will* see are the various parts of the spring, as well as the other geothermal features in this particular geyser basin, each part of which has its own beauty.
The morning produced a sort of “watery” sunlight, trying to break through the cloud cover. It did so, in places, and one could see its reflection in the mirror-smooth water of the shallow terraces. One could also see the distinct little paw prints (can you spot them?) and the much larger hoof prints (thankfully, no boot prints here, that I could discern) on those shallow terraces. In the background was the steaming proof all around us of the underground geothermal machinery within the park.
Here’s a little bit of trivia for you: all the white stuff you see in the terraces and in the paw and hoof prints is *not* snow or ice. The water is too warm for that. What you are looking at is silica precipitated out of solution. Yellowstone’s geothermal waters are full of silica in solution, but once that water reaches the surface and flows away from the heat source toward the cooler portions of wherever it lands, that silica precipitates out. It tends to create milky appearances on the ground and within “cooler” hot springs, making them look sort of opal-ish.
Anyway, there is this beauty to Midway Basin that both has something to do with Grand Prismatic, and at the same time, does not. If you ever visit and can find a parking spot, it’s a worthwhile stop, even if you don’t see that areal view of color that you’d see in textbooks or at the Grand Prismatic Overlook.
Copyright Rebecca L. Latson, all rights reserved.
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You can reach me at rebeccalatson@wherethetrailstakeyou.com
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