When Yellowstone’s Ear Spring erupted in mid-September, park rangers found some weird stuff that came out of it. Image: Yellowstone/Facebook
Have you ever been standing in front of something beautiful and all of a sudden been struck with the urge to throw garbage at it? If you said yes, then you’re similar to a lot of other people, apparently. A hot pool in Yellowstone National Park erupted on September 15, and a whole bunch of trash came out with it.
The pool, known as Ear Spring, is normally pretty placid. Last month’s eruption was its largest since the late ’50s, and some strange things came out of it. According to IFL Science, the geyser burped out a “pacifier from the 1930s, a cement block, dozens of coins, plastic eating utensils, and aluminum cans.”
Ear Spring is in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin. When it erupted, it threw water with a temperature of around 220°F up to 30 feet in the air. Now, according to reports “and a 2.5-meter-wide (8-foot) area of the ground surrounding the hole is “breathing”, rising and falling about 15 centimeters (6 inches) every 10 minutes.”
After the eruption, park employees were surprised to find a number of strange objects around the vent. “After Ear Spring erupted on September 15,” the Park wrote on Facebook, “employees found a strange assortment of items strewn across the landscape around its vent! Some are clearly historic: they’ll be inventoried by curators and may end up in Yellowstone’s archives.” Also among the things that came out of the earth was a sign that appears to be “for a bear management closure.”
Obviously, people should not be throwing things into geysers, but the temptation to do so was just too much for some visitors. “Foreign objects can damage hot springs and geysers,” park representatives wrote. “The next time Ear Spring erupts we hope it’s nothing but natural rocks and water. You can help by never throwing anything into Yellowstone’s thermal features!”
