Distended Earth

Protruding from the earth, this mound of white and brown deposits looks like it is from some alien world. This is just south of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. A little while back there was a shifting of the ground and a new hot spring emerged. In the center of this area the heated water decended vertically and as it ran down the side the minerals within it hardened and created this mound seen here. On the left are a couple of trees that were growing in the wrong spot and were not spared by this hot expulsion. In fact, the trees throughout the entire area were killed and their lifeless trunks still stand as a testament to the awesome power of nature.