Fountain Paint Pot in Yellowstone National Park 2025

The Fountain Paint Pot area is a perfect place to see various thermal features that are both active and amusing. The acidity of the stream in the paint pots corrodes the rock surface and turns it into the clay. This creates interesting colours of white, grey, yellow, red, and brown which occur due to iron oxidation in the mud. The surface plops and bubbles with escaping gases and the whole thing looks like boiling mud.

The Fountain Paint Pot trail takes you along the other interesting spots for geothermal activity. After the Hebgen Lake earthquake, the whole area changed and became even more active. As the result of the earthquake, a new mud pot Red Spouter also appeared.

The Clepsydra Geyser has been erupting regularly since then as well.

The most active season is spring, as the snow melts and the amount of water is larger. At this time the geyser shows off higher splashes of water and even Red Spouter has geyser-like qualities at this time. By the end of summer, the water levels decrease and the splashing eventually stops. Finally, the sun heats and dries the mud making it hard and thick.