A stunning feature of Yellowstone National Park has been the victim of vandalism, and concerned residents are pointing the finger at tourists.
Morning Glory Pool had clear blue waters until tourists became fascinated with the beauty of the place.
Now, the thermal pool in the Upper Geyser Basin, near the famous Old Faithful, looks completely different. The crystal-clear water now has distinctive shades of orange, yellow, green and blue.
The colors are attractive to visitors, but they actually indicate water pollution.
According to the National Park Service, tourists have thrown thousands of pounds of trash, coins, rocks and logs into the pool over the years.
The once crystal-clear water of Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone Park has turned multi-colored due to the careless habits of tourists.
Morning Glory Pool photographed in 1902, before human impact permanently changed its color.
Yellowstone National Park, located in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, is home to 500 geysers.
Yellowstone National Park historian Alicia Murphy said: State of the Cowboys Diary:I think a lot of people like to throw things into pools. Wishing wells are a tradition that goes back a long way.
“There’s something about a pool of water that gives humans an uncanny instinct to throw things into it.”
But this pollution is nothing new. It began when tourists first saw the pool in the 19th century, and by the 1950s it was already unrecognizable.
The geyser was informally called “the garbage can,” according to National Parks Traveler.
Yellowstone National Park, located primarily in Wyoming with parts in Idaho and Montana, is home to more than 500 geysers.
In 1991, a team was tasked with cleaning Morning Glory Pool in an attempt to restore it.
Jeff Henry, who was part of that crew, told Cowboy State Daily: ‘We used a couple of fire trucks to pump the water level out of the pool and dump it into the Firehole River.
‘A guy was strapped into a climbing harness so he wouldn’t fall into the pool, and he was there with a long-handled net, fishing things out of the water way down in the pool’s crater.
Coins, rocks and other debris have been thrown into Morning Glory Geyser over the years.
Morning Glory Pond was once a brilliant blue and was named for its resemblance to the Morning Glory flower.
‘I remember joking about how we were practicing scald and release fishing that day.’
The pool is about 23 feet deep and has a temperature of 160°F.
Henry said the cleanup led to the discovery of thousands of coins, metal car parts, rocks that “didn’t belong there” and hats that likely flew off tourists’ heads.
The newer trash was removed, but the older items thrown into the pool were already embedded in it, causing irreversible damage.
Many nature lovers and locals have expressed outrage at yet another landmark damaged by human contact.
Careless habits by tourists have caused the pool’s temperature to drop over time, which is the primary cause of the color changes, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientist Mike Poland told Cowboy State Daily.
He told the outlet: “Temperature is a very important factor. Warmer pools tend to be bright blue, and cooler pools can be more colourful because bacteria can grow there.
‘At Morning Glory, the temperature dropped because people were throwing objects into the duct, causing it to become partially blocked and the temperature to drop, allowing different types of bacteria to grow.’
The geyser was once about 12°F hotter than it is today.
One Reddit user wrote: “Shit. It’s probably the same fucking morons who are constantly building piles of ‘pretty’ rocks everywhere they go, ripping rocks out of the ground and speeding up erosion.”
The Morning Glory captured in 1993, just two years after a team attempted to clean it.
The Morning Glory is located near the famous Old Faithful Geyser.
Another Reddit user offered some advice to tourists planning to visit the national park: “I live in Montana and have visited Yellowstone many times. Morning Glory Pool and Old Faithful, among many others, are an incredible sight.”
‘If you have the patience, sit back and wait for Old Faithful to erupt… it takes about 90 minutes. You won’t be disappointed!
‘Also, if you are a tourist, stay on the trails and DO NOT try to get close to geothermal events, i.e. extremely hot pools of water.’
In 1981, a 24-year-old California man named David Kirwan died after jumping into the blazing Morning Glory after a friend’s dog and burning to death, according to Spies.
Yellowstone National Park has seen many “asshole tourists” who ruin the experience for those trying to enjoy the natural beauty of the park.
An Instagram account called ‘Tourons of Yellowstone’ (‘Touron’ is a combination of ‘tourist’ and ‘idiot’) is dedicated to showcasing the senseless and harmful actions of unsavory visitors.
Another reason tourists may be tempted to throw objects into the geyser is to try to get it to erupt, but Murphy explained why this is unreasonable. This was especially common during the park’s early days.
She told Cowboy State Daily: “People didn’t understand plumbing or how geysers worked. There were a lot of ideas like, ‘If we throw something in this pool, we might blow it up.'”
An Instagram account called ‘Tourons of Yellowstone’ highlights the thoughtless actions of some tourists
“I think there was some trial and error and a misunderstanding of the damage they were causing.”
Morning Glory Pond was named for its resemblance to a Morning Glory flower, but since it changed color, this comparison has become exaggerated.
Experts believe there is hope for the park and its vibrant attractions, including the Morning Glory Pool.
Henry told Cowboy State Daily: “I think people are a lot more respectful than they were in my early days.”
