Just as some people like to watch the world burn, others like to walk on the parts of the world that could potentially burn them.
Idiotic tourists (also known as “Tourons”) at Yellowstone National Park are at it again. This time around, it’s not someone getting too close to a wild animal that is the center of the story. Instead, it’s someone that decided to ignore all of the warnings and walk on one of the park’s many thermal springs.
Since 1888, rangers at Yellowstone National Park have erected signs that warn visitors to stay out of the thermal springs. If you were to visit today, you’d see large signage that lays out guidance – and what not to do – written in five different languages. Each sign warns tourists to stay on the provided board walk walkways and to avoid getting into the hot water.
Somehow, that’s not enough. You’ve still got people that determine they are an exception to the rules and safety guidelines, like the couple that went viral a couple of years back for giving their dogs a bath in one of Yellowstone’s hot springs. Or this groups of tourists that decided to walk across the Grand Prismatic Spring – which is the largest hot spring in the United States.
The Grand Prismatic is famous for being full of color. The bright oranges and blues that can be seen are caused by the extreme life forms that call the hot spring home. Tourists are always flocking to the colorful, mesmerizing spring that is located in the Midway Geyser Basin region of the park. And because it’s a popular place to visit, there’s usually someone there with a camera that can catch an idiot breaking the rules.
According to this post, a pair of tourists had gotten off of the provided (and safe) boardwalk areas and walked across the Grand Prismatic spring. They appear to be blissfully unaware that what they are doing is pretty much the most dangerous thing you could do at Yellowstone National Park (maybe besides being too close to a rutting bison).
In the back, you can see all of the people following the rules and walking where they are supposed to be. In the front, you can see the idiotic “tourons” going for a stroll and risking their lives doing so:
I don’t think anyone understands how dangerous that is.
If they were to break through that thin crust layer above the hot spring, they would be falling into water that could easily cause extreme and severe burns. The temperate and acidity of the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park can even be fatal, as the multitude of signs posted around them will tell you.
Over 20 people have died after they entered or accidentally fell into the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. As previously mentioned, there are signs everywhere that warn visitors not to get off the boardwalks or approach the hot springs, and most of the time, the tourists are smart enough to head those warnings.
The thermal areas typically located near or around the park’s geysers are very sensitive. The bacterial mats around the Grand Prismatic and elsewhere throughout the park house fragile living organisms. Called thermophiles, the delicate organisms are only able to survive in the heat of the thermal basin, and are incredibly fragile when it comes to unnatural disturbances.
And to add to that, walking on the hot springs is illegal, and can lead to jail time. Earlier this year, a man was sentenced to five days in jail for walking out on the Grand Prismatic. If this pair can be identified, they could face a similar sentence.
