Gas Vent
A second thermal point that the record calls Gas Vent, this one roadside on the Grand Loop Road inside Yellowstone National Park, Gallatin County, Wyoming. The record labels it hot and gives no figure. The Geological Survey sampled the water in 2006 and found it acidic, with calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate and chloride in the mix. West Yellowstone is about three miles off by the record. Public, National Park Service.
Roadside. The Grand Loop Road passes within about two hundred and fifty feet. Elevation is a little above 7,500 feet on National Park Service land in Yellowstone. The climate on file is cold, with snow around a hundred and thirty-seven inches a year. Winters are long.
No best months are listed. With snow like this, the usable window comes down to when the park opens the Grand Loop Road. Roadside, with public access. The nearest camping, Indian Creek Campground, is a little under ten miles off. There is no temperature reading and the water is acidic, so look from the road and keep your hands off.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Gas Vent.
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
- Setting
- Valley floor
- Gentle slopes rise on both sides.
- Highest ground nearby
- 251 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
Landsat's thermal camera passed over on a clear winter day, February 21, 2020. This spring's heat shows up from about 440 miles up. The brightest yellow marks the warmest ground, roughly 14°F warmer than the land around it.
Drag to compare. The view is about 2½ miles across, and each thermal pixel covers roughly 300 feet of ground, so individual pools blur into one warm patch.
Thermal: Landsat 8/9 surface temperature, USGS (public domain), via Microsoft Planetary Computer. Aerial: USGS The National Map. More springs seen from space.
That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 85% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
The water at Gas Vent is acidic (pH 4.7).
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Overview Located about eight miles (13 km) south of Mammoth Hot Springs on the road to Norris, Indian Creek Campground—elevation 7,300 feet (2225 m)—sits near the base of the Gallatin Mountains and offers breathtaking views of Electric Peak. The area offers easy access to fishing and hiking. The campground is away from the main road and provides a quieter, more primitive, experience than many other locations. For reservations at the campgrounds managed by Yellowstone National Park Lodges (Fi...
Gas Vent sits at 7,520 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 30% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
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Gas Vent is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. Cold air temperatures make a changing robe or warm layers essential.
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Springs Near Gas Vent
Acidic Springs (pH ~4.7)
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