Purple Pools

August 18, 2000

The Purple Pools are located across the Firehole river from Giant Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone. South Purple Pool erupted on August 18, 2000. This was its first known eruption since October 11,1998. I was lucky enough to be in the basin when Mike Keller announced on the radio that the Purple Pools was erupting. According to Mike Keller the purple pools erupted in a series of 28 eruptions spread over a period of 8 hours. The eruptions had a duration of about 1 to 5 minutes. The estimated height was 25 to 50 feet.

I missed the first few eruptions and stopped filming when it got too dark. Here are some highlights of several eruptions:

View from near Giant Geyser.

Start 1757

Start 1804

Start 1814

Movie (35 sec, 3.1 Mb, sound)

Moved the camera to south of the bridge.

Start 1842. Notice the debris just to the left of the small tilted tree in mid screen.

Movie (2 sec, 0.3 Mb)

Start 1842. A bigger chunk of debris.

Movie (2 sec, 0.2 Mb)

Start 1842.

Movie (11 sec, 0.5 Mb, sound)

Viewed from south of the bridge with a better angle that doesn't get blocked as much by the tree.

Start 1859.

Movie (20 sec, 1.4 Mb, sound)

Start 1935. Some big bursts in this eruption.

Movie (19 sec, 1.2 Mb, sound)

Start 2014. This is one of the biggest bursts I saw. The actual height is a bit more than this frame. I picked this frame before the actual height was reached because it had more contrast between the water and the steam. The light was already marginal so this is the last eruption I was able to film. 16 more eruptions occured after this one.

Movie (5 sec, 0.3 Mb, sound)

October 11, 1998

All three Purple Pools erupted the morning of October 11, 1998 at about 0815. I heard and saw them from near South Norris Pool geyser. Not realizing the importance of the eruption, I missed seeing the initial eruption from up close. North Purple Pool erupted to a height estimated at about 100'( higher than the trees on the hill behind the pool). South Purple Pool erupted to a height of about 40' and was a much wider eruption than north. East Purple Pool erupted to a height of about 15' many times over the next few hours. Height estimates were by Zach. In the initial eruption, all the pools erupted in concert. The movie below shows only East Purple Pool erupting.

East Purple Pool Eruption:

East Purple Pool movie (0.9 Mb, 7 sec)

	View from near Giant Geyser. Start 1757
	Start 1804
	Start 1814 Movie (35 sec, 3.1 Mb, sound)
	Moved the camera to south of the bridge. Start 1842. Notice the debris just to the left of the small tilted tree in mid screen. Movie (2 sec, 0.3 Mb)
	Start 1842. A bigger chunk of debris. Movie (2 sec, 0.2 Mb)
	Start 1842. Movie (11 sec, 0.5 Mb, sound)
	Viewed from south of the bridge with a better angle that doesn't get blocked as much by the tree. Start 1859. Movie (20 sec, 1.4 Mb, sound)
	Start 1935. Some big bursts in this eruption. Movie (19 sec, 1.2 Mb, sound)
	Start 2014. This is one of the biggest bursts I saw. The actual height is a bit more than this frame. I picked this frame before the actual height was reached because it had more contrast between the water and the steam. The light was already marginal so this is the last eruption I was able to film. 16 more eruptions occured after this one. Movie (5 sec, 0.3 Mb, sound)