A high-angle, wide landscape shot of the massive Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone, displaying its vibrant blue center surrounded by bright orange and yellow mineral rings under a clear sky.

Hydrothermal pool microbial mats containing cyanobacteria like Synechococcus

Earth’s Brilliant Boiling Eye

Standing high on the rugged overlook, the sheer magnitude of the grand hot spring hits with breathtaking intensity, its boiling core glowing an impossible, deep cerulean blue.

David S. McMeans · Sony Alpha 7R V · Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II wide-angle zoom

Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming, USA

Image

Earth’s Brilliant Boiling Eye

Standing high on the rugged overlook, the sheer magnitude of the grand hot spring hits with breathtaking intensity, its boiling core glowing an impossible, deep cerulean blue. The crisp mountain air carries the heavy, pungent smell of ancient mineral deposits as vast tendrils of pure white steam swirl upward into a clear sky. Radiating outward from the center, a spectacular spectrum of blazing orange, deep rust, and golden microbial mats stretch out across the gray, cracked earth like veins of fire. Far below, tiny silhouettes of visitors wind along the wooden boardwalks, looking like small specks against a prehistoric landscape that feels less like North America and more like the colorful canvas of a newly forming planet.

Open the photograph page