There are certainly many extraordinary natural features to see in Yellowstone National Park, but I will bet there is one hillside in particular that might not have caught your eye. In fact, you could have driven right by this seemingly innocent slope on the road between Madison Junction and West Yellowstone without even giving it a second thought. After all, it looks just like any old slumping, eroding hillside.
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| Not just any old hillside |
However…
It may look like any old hillside, but this one is quite remarkable.
This particular hillside just happens to be along part of the fault zone created when the roof of the Yellowstone caldera collapsed into the magma chamber following the colossal volcanic eruption around 640,000 years ago. It is one of the few places in the entire park where the fault zone is easily visible and unmistakable, once you know it is there.
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| Fault zone from collapse of the caldera |
