Quadrant 1: Firehole Canyon Drive, Midway Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic Spring, Excelsior Geyser Crater, Turquoise Pool, Opal Pool, Biscuit Basin, Upper Geyser Basin, Old Faithful.
There is more than one way to get to this part of the park, but for the sake of continuity and flow, we will be assuming you have entered Quadrant 1 from the Madison area, entering on West Entrance Rd., heading south on Grand Loop Rd. Our first stop in Quadrant 1 will be Firehole Canyon Drive.
Firehole Canyon Drive – this road runs parallel to the Grand Loop Rd. along Firehole River. If you’re looking for a place to swim in Yellowstone, this is a very popular spot. Swimming is allowed at the Firehole Cascades swimming area, a section of the Firehole River that is warmed by hot springs. This area has a toilet but no lifeguard and not much parking. Also along this drive you can see Firehole Falls, a 40 foot waterfall.
Midway Geyser Basin – Next is Midway Geyser Basin. Though smaller than the other basins, this basin has two very large features: Excelsior Geyser and Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone’s largest hot spring.
While you’re there you might as well take a look at Turquoise Pool and Opal Pool.
Drive a little further south and we get to the next destination in Quadrant 1: Biscuit Basin. Biscuit Basin is home to some more hydrothermal action like Sapphire Pool and Black Opal Spring.
The main event is in Upper Geyser Basin. The Upper Geyser Basin, approximately two square miles in area, contains the largest concentration and nearly one-quarter of all of the geysers in the world. A variety of thermal features exist here: spouting geysers, colorful hot springs, and steaming fumaroles… and Old Faithful.
Old Faithful is the most famous and celebrated geyser in the world. The 1870 Washburn Expedition camped near Old Faithful and discovered the geyser had frequent and regular eruptions over 100 feet. They dubbed the geyser Old Faithful. It erupts once approximately every 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the duration of the previous eruption. It is the grand old geyser of Yellowstone because of its frequent and predictable eruptions.
Those are some of the main attractions for Quadrant 1. Next we will head north east and look at Quadrant 2!
**Again, we are in no way a comprehensive resource for everything to see in the park. We recommend these sites:
The NPS website
Everytrail.com
YellowstoneNationalPark.com
Just to name a few.
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