Did you know?
Truths behind your favorite photographic landscapes
Yellowstone
More than a third of Yellowstone sits within the caldera of an active volcano that hasn’t erupted in approximately 640,000 years. However, the heat from the magma powering that eruption still contributes to the park’s famous geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots. According to researchers, another eruption happening in the next 10,000 years is “extremely unlikely,” but scientists still monitor Yellowstone’s thousands of small earthquakes and changes in geothermal gases for signs of an impending eruption.
Lake Natron in the Great Rift Valley (Border of Tanzania and Kenya)
This beautiful, vibrant red is a product of nature and science at its finest. Within the hyper-saline waters of Lake Natron in the Great Rift Valley, salt-loving algae react with the water to create the red color you see here. The lake’s unique mineral content comes from the natural environment of surrounding volcanoes and its temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stereograph Card
The Science Center has displayed many artifacts from its Collections Department to complement this exhibition, including this stereograph card.
This image is a part of a two-volume, hand-painted set produced by the Keystone View Company in 1905. Entitled the “Feast of Chrysanthemums,” the card shows three Japanese women sitting in a garden of blooming chrysanthemums. For over a thousand years, the Japanese celebrated this autumn “royal” flower with a festival, and it is held in higher esteem than even the popular cherry blossom.