• Visitors stand on the boardwalk of Grand Prismatic, the park's largest hot spring which is ringed with orange, brown and yellow runoff channels.

    Yellowstone

    National Park ID,MT,WY

Anatomy of a Cone Geyser

Illustration of how a cone geyser works

A Cone Geyser

Geysers are hot springs that erupt periodically. In Yellowstone National Park, all of the ingredients needed for geyser activity are present: heat, water, and underground rock hard enough to withstand intense pressures. Beehive is an example of a cone geyser. It was so named because its four-foot high cone resembles an old fashioned beehive. Though its cone is modest compared to others in the Upper Geyser Basin, Beehive is one of the most powerful and impressive geysers in the park. Typically, Beehive's activity is not predictable, but when eruption cycles start, intervals between eruptions can range from 10 hours to five days. An average eruption lasts about five minutes.

Did You Know?

Bear Cubs

Even though the animals of Yellowstone seem tame they are still wild. Feeding the animals is not permitted in any way, and all visitors must keep 100 yards away from wolves and bears, and 25 yards from other animals.