Especially for the Icelandic geyser portion of this page, it can easily be translated into Icelandic using your browser with Google Translate, for example.
Look! What’s that Lurking in the Mudpots?
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High speed close-up photos of mudpot bursts, primarily in Yellowstone National Park. These complex bursts contain hidden shapes to challenge the imaginations of both adults and children. You can find objects hiding in the pictures, then compare yours with what others have found. Their findings are revealed starting at Page 64. This is the first book published about mudpots of Yellowstone and other geothermal regions across the globe. Their forms are described in detail for the first time, including examples from Yellowstone, Iceland, California, New Zealand and distant Kamchatka in Siberia, Russia. Emphasis is on closeup photography at high shutter speeds to freeze the action like rarely seen up to now. By showing the most compelling patterns from 35 years of mudpot photography, the pictures turn into fascinating challenges for inquiring minds to solve. A special note about the remarkable image on Page 63. After the book was printed, it was noted that the mudpot image also has hands over his ears and a shirt collar, just like in the painting! If this makes you more uneasy, you can always follow the suggestion on that page .
(click on any image to enlarge it and see detail) softbound, 72 pages, 117 closeup images: $25. Order from the Shopping Cart page |
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Additional Mudpot Objects Found:
- Pg 6; A ghostly face formed by the shadow at lower right.
- Pg 11: A small, cute animal head in the lower left image.
- Pg 63: Note also that the mudpot scream face has what looks like hands covering his ears, just like in the painting. Also, he has a vee-shaped collar like in the painting.
About the Remarkable Painting: The Scream on Page 63:
An interesting TV show about this painting was presented in the series, Raiders of the Lost Art, on the Ovation Channel, season 2, episode 1, titled “Stealing the Scream”. It is also available on Netflix.
Corrections and Additions:
Page 7, next to last paragraph: add after the word fluid: “(low viscosity)”
A special note for those with Norwegian ancestry: Be sure to checkout Page 63, for it pays homage to Norway’s most significant art treasure.
Unusual Geysers
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Geysers with eruptions that dome up at the start are rare. These domes are called “blue bubbles” because they look blue when not filled with tiny bubbles and steam. The best examples are Strokkur Geyser in Iceland and Botryoidal Spring in Yellowstone. These bubble-producing eruptions must be relatively gentle and must have a pool of water for dome creation. They need at least a brief pause to calm the pool. Picture sequences in the book and below show bubble eruptions. as series of still pictures, each one taken at high shutter speeds to stop the motion and show water surface detail that can appear like finely-cut crystal. Only a few dozen geysers in Yellowstone and one in Iceland are known to produce bubble eruptions. Hopefully, feedback from observers, such as GOSA, the Geyser Observation and Study Association, can be printed here to list geysers not shown in this book to help visitors to Yellowstone. Two that are easy to observe when the right conditions exist are Spa and Solitary Geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin. Spa Geyser bubbles can be seen when it erupts during marathon (long duration) eruptions of Grotto Geyser. Solitary Geyser on the trail to the Observation Point can have brief bubbles when it is erupting more vigorously than normal. Eruptions occur every 5-8 minutes. softbound, 136 pages, 237 images: $28. |
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Corrections and Additions:
Page 112: The upper picture is referred to have an “animal” shape. Further research has uncovered a remarkable likeness to the early logo for RCA, its dog listening to an early phonograph, the “Victrola” (click to enlarge):
Page 132, first caption: Ignore the next to last sentence, starting with “Consequently”. It’s confusing.
Bubble Geyser Eruption Example:
A typical Botryoidal Spring eruption sequence of 10 images follows. They were taken about 0.2 seconds apart and show early water rise in a quiet spring followed by doming of water into a blue bubble with a textured surface pattern, then breaking apart into a normal spray eruption. You can click on the page to enlarge it, then enlarge the view to fill your computer screen (Command + on a Mac)
On a 55″ 4K TV screen, I was able to enlarge each picture in the sequence to 3 feet across with the same sharpness as the sequences in the Unusual Geysers book !
Challenges for Readers:
Page 48: There is an image of a woman in the eruption closeup. She appears to have an early pioneer hair style. There is a larger face with goggly eyes lurking above. In the center, a smaller head with brimmed cap and large nose is more well-hidden.
The picture on Pg 86 has at least 7 heads “lurking” in the eruption, just like objects in the mudpot book. Fans of the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour will instantly recognize one of them. An outline sketch below indicates the approximate location and size of each head. Three more were found during the preparation of this sketch. No more hints.
Books Not Yet in Print
More Things that Lurk in Mudpots
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A sequel to Look! What’s that Lurking in the Mudpots? Another collection of the fun images suitable for readers to look for hidden objects within the closeup high speed photos of mudpot bursts. |
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Pocket Mud Geyser
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Some mudpots have periodic bursts just like water geysers. Nearly all only do this for only minutes to hours before they evolve into normal irregular burst times. A notable exception is the largest and most remarkable of these mudpots that exhibited this behavior during 4 years over a 10 year span from 1994 to 2004. It was named Pocket Mud Geyser by the author, since it is the mudpot equivalent of a water geyser named Pocket Geyser, located at the far end of the mudpot basin containing both features. Its eruptions ranged from sudden awakening into spasmodic, wild-phase bursting to more orderly eruptions. Just like normal water geysers, the eruptions had quiet periods interrupted by distinct eruptions featuring mud pool levels rising, then falling over the duration of each eruption. The most unusual eruptions had bursts with the appearance of subterranean fire hoses, ejecting mud in a vertical stream over 40 feet high, yet only inches in diameter! Enlarging the front cover by clicking on it, you can see a good example of such a burst. Click on the front cover to see one of these tall, narrow columns. To give a sense of scale for this remarkable burst, a typical eruption of Old Faithful or a superburst of Great Fountain geyser would have to be half a mile high to have the same aspect ratio (burst height divided by burst diameter)! |
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