Welcome to the Yellowstone Supervolcano! Today we’re going to be showing you around some of the park’s features in this 360° Virtual Tour with spatial audio.
Bison Jam (with babies!) at Yellowstone National Park
Ever been in a Bison Jam? Check out all those baby buffalo!
Bison love to take the easy way from one place to another, so sometimes that means getting caught in a stampede while driving down the road at Yellowstone.
Aside from the occasional goring (usually when people deserve it), buffalo are gentle giants.
But don’t get on their bad side – bison can weight up to 2,000 pounds and can run 35 miles per hour. Humans can run about half that speed. Also, we don’t have horns.
In case you were wondering whether planning a summer vacation is worth it, it is! You deserve it.
Bison at Yellowstone in 360°
Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have lived continuously since prehistoric times. A number of Native American tribes especially revere Yellowstone’s bison as pure descendants of the vast herds that once roamed the grasslands of the United States.
The largest bison population in the country on public land resides in Yellowstone. It is one of the few herds free of cattle genes.
Watching Buffalo from a Safe Distance at Yellowstone
Bison were once plentiful in North America, with an estimated 20 to 30 million roaming across the continent. Nowadays there are only about 500,000 bison living in North America.
Bison Babies Drink from Hot Springs at Yellowstone
The bison population here in Yellowstone National Park fluctuates between 2,300 to 5,500.
Hiking at Yellowstone, Don’t Fall In
The Yellowstone Supervolcano has created some truly incredible landscapes that we get to explore when visiting. Geysers, fumaroles, mud pots, and other geothermal features.
Watch your step as walk along the boardwalk, because this place is dangerous if you’re not paying attention.
Mud Volcano Area at Yellowstone Supervolcano
We’re at the Churning Cauldron in the Mud Volcano area of Yellowstone National Park.
Just ahead you’ll notice boiling muddy water being tossed 3 – 5 feet into the air. Before 1978, this was actually a cool pool filled with bacteria, but earthquakes that rocked this area in 1978 and 1979 caused the temperature to greatly increase.
Mud Geyser at Yellowstone
In the 1800s, this sizzling mudpot area at Yellowstone National Park used to erupt muddy water up to 50 feet into the air.
Hovering over Yellowstone Mud Pots in 360 VR
All these mud pots are close to boiling, so you wouldn’t want to go swimming here.
And remember: It’s bad luck to throw anything into the mud pots or other thermal features.
Let’s go check out the geothermal vents.
Mud Pot by Dragon’s Mouth Spring
We’re heading up toward Dragon’s Mouth Spring. Take a look at this boiling mud pot.
Dragon’s Mouth Spring Churning and Splattering
Dragon’s Mouth is a hot spring that boils out of a deep cave here in Yellowstone.
The high temperature of the water creates steam and gasses that are released deep in the cave, creating pressure bubbles that explode and echo noises that resemble the growls from a large creature. Steam rises from the mouth of the cave giving the fantastical impression of smoke billowing from the mouth of a dragon.
What do you think? Is there a dragon protecting its gold in there?
Yellowstone’s Mud Volcano in 360 VR – View From Above
Welcome to the famed Mud Volcano at Yellowstone.
The muddy water in this bubbling pool is around 184°F (about 84°C).
Early visitors who came here described this Mud Volcano as a 30-foot tall cone that erupted mud high enough to cover nearby trees.
But by 1872 when the park was established, it had apparently blown itself apart and become this bubbling mud filled crater that you see today.
Hovering Over Grizzy Fumarole at Yellowstone in 360 VR
This is Grizzy Fumarole. Be glad you’re experiencing this in virtual reality, because it smells truly terrible here.
A fumarole is an opening in the planet’s crust (often near volcanoes) that emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfer dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen sulfide. The gases are what’s causing that rotten egg-like stench that you’d be smelling if you were here in person with us.
The appearance of this fumarole undergoes striking changes depending on recent precipitation. After a downpour, it can be a watery mudpot, or turn to a thicker mudpot. And during dryer periods, it can simply look like a hissing steam vent (fumarole).
Notice the bison tracks down below. They travel all around Yellowstone.
Black Dragon’s Cauldron and Sour Lake at Yellowstone (360 Video w/ Spatial Audio)
Once a quiet forested hillside, this giant mud pot exploded into existence back in 1948, blowing trees out by roots and covering nearby plant life in hot mud.
For decades, it erupted in explosive bursts that shot black mud 10 to 20 feet into the air, but has since calmed down a bit.
To wrap up this segment of our Yellowstone National Park Virtual Tour, we’ll leave you with one more video of the adorable Bison Jam captured from 3D Stereoscopic 360 Video.
Bison Saunter Down the Road at Yellowstone in 3D Virtual Reality
Get up close and personal with these bison as they saunter down the road in Yellowstone National Park.
If you haven’t checked out Part 1 yet, you can catch our 360-degree videos of exploding geysers, thermal hot springs and more by clicking right here.
What did you think of this virtual adventure tour of Yellowstone? Send me a note on YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook.
