The Firehole River

Abstract

The Firehole River, which flows through the main geyser basins of Yellowstone National Park (Figure 13.1), has been the main avenue of tourist travel through Yellowstone for over 100 years. It would be a remarkable river in any setting, but here in the valley of the geysers, its beauty and excitement are unsurpassable. Immediately as one glimpses the Firehole through the trees during the descent into the Upper Geyser Basin, one knows that this is not an ordinary mountain river, but something special. However, the Firehole River is more than a tourist attraction: it is of great scientific interest because it is the best example known of a naturally thermally polluted river. In these days when the long-range consequences of environmental pollution are constantly debated, it is not difficult to see the value for study of a river such as the Firehole, which has been receiving thermal inputs for hundreds of years and may, consequently, reveal to us something about how ecosystems can adapt to pollutants, given enough time. And the Firehole is especially interesting when it is understood that despite the fact that its temperature is raised almost 15°C as a result of thermal inputs (about what the largest power plant could do to its cooling water), it is still considered an excellent trout stream, one that attracts fly fishermen from all over the world.