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Paintpot Hill

Lava Dome in Yellowstone NP, Rocky Mountains near Canyon Village, WY

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At the northern base of Paintpot Hill, are the Artists Paintpots or mudpots for which the hill is named.

Mudpots are formed by acidic hot springs with a limited water supply. Acid from volcanic gases and microorganisms help decompose the surrounding rock into a clay mud. Sometimes, the mud is pink or red from iron, hence the name paintpot. As gas bubbles breakout at the mud’s surface, the noisy pot burps a blob of mud.

A mudpot’s mud consistency, from soupy to hard baked, varies with the seasons and precipitation, so repeat visits to the area are worthwhile. Mudpots are typically drier in the late summer and early fall, unless an earthquake has altered the underground plumbing. Sometimes a mudpot that spits up a very thick mud can build up a surrounding round cone and become a mud volcano. Yellowstone mudpots can be viewed at Artists Paintpots, Norris Geyser Basin, Fountain Paint Pots, West Thumb Geyser Basin, and the Mud Volcano (Chittenden 1895, 305; Keefer 1971, 82-83; Whittlesey 2006, 197)

Sources

Chittenden, Hiram Martin. Yellowstone National Park. Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company, 1895. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42112/42112-h/42112-h.htm.

Keefer, William Richard. “The Geologic Story of Yellowstone National Park.” Bulletin 1347. Washington D.C.: USGS, 1971. USGS Publications Warehouse. https://doi.org/10.3133/b1347.

Whittlesey, L.H. Yellowstone Place Names. Second. Wonderland Publishing Company, 2006.

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Lava Dome