Photo of the Week: Roaring Mountain

Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone National Park is a rare and beautiful site. The name comes from the loud hissing and roaring of the many fumaroles (an opening in the earth's crust that releases steam and gas, mostly near volcanoes) located on the mountain side. Back when Roaring Mountain was first discovered, the roaring could be heard from miles away due to thermal activity, but nowadays, it's much quieter.

I visited the area in the early morning in May, so it was still a bit chilly. Because of the chill, we were able to get a better view of the steam coming out of the side of the mountain. While we didn't hear any roaring from the mountain, we did get a spectacular view of the steam coming from the fumaroles. Once it warmed up though, the steam wasn't as visible and it wasn't quite as awesome as when we first passed it. It was just a stroke of luck for us that we passed by it in the morning, as I had never heard of Roaring Mountain before.  The mountain is one of the many gems of Yellowstone National Park.