Minerva Terrace in Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Pictures
Minerva Terrace in Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Mammoth Hot Springs is one of the most popular natural wonders in a park full of them. Minerva Terrace has been dry during the past few years thanks to recent earthquake activity, but when the geothermal springs are flowing, the water is continually reshaping the area, drawing limestone up from the ground and depositing it on the surface to form these pale stone formations. Colors on the travertine come from algae living in the warm water.