Roaring Mountain - Yellowstone National Park
N 44° 46.880 W 110° 44.439
12T E 520518 N 4958692
A barren, furrowed, white ridge, rising 400 feet from the base and spotted with steam vents.
Waymark Code: WMNEQ
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 08/26/2006
Views: 140
Geologists Arnold Hague and Walter Weed named this thermal feature in 1885. Hague stated "it takes its name from the shrill, penetrating sound of the steam constantly escaping from one or more vents located near the summit, and on a calm day, or with a favorable wind, the rushing of the steam through the narrow orifices can be distinctly heard."
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the number, size, and power of the fumaroles was much greater than today. At that time the name Roaring Mountain seemed more appropriate but even today, the mountain side is still spotted with steam vents or fumaroles, and the fumaroles' vents are rimed with bright yellow, crystalline sulfur deposits. The leaching of sulfuric acid has produced the stark, barren environment.
Technically, Roaring Mountain is part of Norris Geyser Basin, but since it is located 4.5 miles north of everything else and on the other side of the road, it has its own map entry in all the Yellowstone guide books.