YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK – Lots of hats in boiling vats!
More than 300 hats have been collected from Yellowstone National Park’s thermal features this year. That’s in addition to more than 13,000 pieces of trash, and 4,000 rocks and sticks. Yes, rocks and sticks also need to be removed from those scenic pools because people toss them in. Debris tossed into hot springs can forever change their temperature, color, and even their eruption behavior.
National Park Service geologists, part of Yellowstone’s Geology Program, are specially trained to protect, mediate and study the park’s thermal features. They know how to travel across delicate and dangerous landscapes to protect fragile bacterial mats and geological formations while removing trash, food, and items of clothing that get blown away from visitors.
“To reach this debris, which is often literally floating in boiling water, the Geology team uses a collection of tools: some off-the-shelf and others manufactured in-house using little more than creativity and elbow grease,” said the United States Geological Survey. “From 2-foot to 12-foot and even 30-foot grabber poles, to fishing rods and extra-long slotted spoons, the team uses (or creates!) any device necessary to remove items safely.”
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