Joel Callen
News

Tourists have ruined one of the wonders of the world

Yellowstone’s beautiful Morning Glory hot spring has been ruined by tourists. The pool, which was once a gorgeous, otherworldly blue colour (similar to the Sapphire Pool in Yellowstone, on the right) is now a sickly green with yellow around the edges (as seen above on the left).

How are tourists to blame for this visually assaulting crime to our eyes? Because for years, visitors to Morning Glory have been throwing coins, rocks and even rubbish into it. In a study published by researchers from Montana and Germany, these foreign objects clogged up an underwater vent, which has caused the water temperature to cool. This altered environment means that pigmented bacteria were able to thrive.

So now our question is – can we get this remarkable natural treasure cleaned up and restored to its former glory?

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Tags:
news, travel, Yellowstone