Orange Spring Mound is a very unique hot spring in the Mammoth Hot Springs section of Yellowstone National Park. It gets its orange coloring from a certain bacteria in the area which thrives in the cooler water coming from the spring. According to the folks at Yellowstone Media, the water from Orange Spring Mound is only 157°F.
I really enjoyed my time photographing this awesome geothermal feature in Yellowstone. It was calm with very few people around. This was a welcomed break from the madhouse of folks visiting the nearby Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. I must have stayed here over a half hour watching the water flow over hundreds of colored striations. While I stood there, I was very surprised to notice a few daring birds land on top of the mound. None of them tried to take a drink. Too hot for that! But perhaps they were visiting Orange Spring Mound for a nice steam bath to loosen their muscles while flying south for the winter. Who knows!