Mammoth Hot Spring to Norris Jct
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Near Liberty Cap
Silver Gate
Golden Gate
Swan Lake
Obsidian Cliff
Roaring Mountain
Approaching Norris Jct
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Here at Mammoth Hot Springs, water doesn’t erupt like in the geyser basins but flows, gently from cracks. Hot water dissolves the underlying limestone and deposits it on the surface forming these huge terraces. As we leave Mammoth Hot Spring heading south, the road passes thru Golden Gate. The road passes by Obsidian Cliff, a “mountain of glass”. This rock formation is the same as rhyolite, but in this case, the rhyolite cooled so quickly that it did not crystalize. Instead, black glass was formed.