Contents
Page [Foreword] VII [Yellowstone country] 1 [A geological preview] 4 [Geologic history of the Yellowstone region] 7 [The nature of the rocks reveals their origins] 7 [The oldest rocks] 7 [The deposits of the shifting seas] 13 [The first mountain-building episode] 19 [Volcanic activity] 23 [A quiet period] 31 [More mountain building and deep erosion] 32 [Formation of the Yellowstone caldera] 34 [The eruption] 38 [The collapse] 39 [The outpouring of lava] 44 [Final sculpturing of the landscape] 53 [Glaciation] 53 [Running water—canyons and waterfalls] 63 [Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone] 64 [Hot-water and steam phenomena] 71 [How a thermal system operates] 71 [Hot-spring deposits and algae] 75 [Hot springs and geysers] 79 [Mudpots] 82 [Fumaroles] 85 [Thermal explosions] 85 [Faulting and its control of thermal activity] 86 [Earthquakes] 87 [The Park and man] 89 [Acknowledgments] 90 [Selected additional reading] 91