Yellowstone National Park has strict rules about not getting too close to their natural attractions, like their geysers, abyss pools, and even wildlife.
Of course, the possibility of doing some jail time, severe maiming and even death, should be enough to keep tourists from being morons and getting too close to these attractions, but this might be an even bigger warning…
According to ABC-Fox Montana, a Yellowstone National Park employee discovered part of a foot inside of a shoe, floating around in the Abyss Pool in the West Thumb Geyser Basin this past Tuesday.
Yellowstone’s Public Affairs officer Morgan Warthin shared in a statement:
“On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, an employee found part of a foot in a shoe floating in Abyss Pool, located in the West Thumb Geyser Basin in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. An investigation is underway.
Since the discovery, rangers have reopened to visitors the temporarily closed West Thumb Geyser Basin and parking lot.
Abyss Pool has a depth of more than 50 feet and is one of the deepest hot springs in the park. Its temperature is approximately 140 degrees F (60 degrees C).
The park does not have any other details to share about this incident currently. We will provide additional information to the public in the next few days.”
Of course, we don’t know any details about how this “foot inside of a shoe” got inside the abyss pool, but I can imagine it may have had something to do with a tourist getting way too close for comfort.
A few years back, a man fell into a hot spring at Yellowstone, and his remains could never be found because he practically disintegrated from the extreme temperatures of the spring.
More than 20 people have been killed since 2016 at Yellowstone due to the park’s various geothermal pools, geysers, mudpots, steam vents, and hot springs.
