I spend way more time taking photos of animals and not much time doing landscapes but a little while ago I got to go out on a boat on Yellowstone Lake. It had snowed the night before and there was no wind on the lake. We went to Carrington Island, a small island just north of West Thumb. Carrington Island is one of the places where research is being done on the invasive lake trout to discover how many of their eggs survive the winter and grow into larva. (Lake trout spawn in the fall and their eggs over winter in the lake.)
The morning we went out was like a winter fairyland, just enough snow to create an icing on every tree, mountain, and rock. It was beautiful just to be there. Carrington Island is visible from the road from Lake to West Thumb. Because we have spent so much time in Yellowstone I had to have driven past it many, many times, but I never noticed it. But then it is a small island. All it is is a crescent shaped pile of rocks with one pine tree on it.
Carrington Island was named by the U.S.G.S. in the 1880’s for a zoologist names Campbell Carrington who accompanied the Hayden Expedition to Yellowstone. I find that really interesting because today the research on invasive lake trout eggs and larvae around Carrington Island is being coordinated by Dr. Bob Gresswell, a fisheries biologist with the U.S.G.S.
In the above view of the island you can see some geysers in the background at West Thumb if you look closely.
The last photo is Mammoth Terraces. I took it on our way home from the park in keeping with the landscape theme.
Our photos are available at www.vernelehmberg.com.
Those are gorgeous images. Looks like you had a good day out there and that top photo makes me want to go out. The gulls are a nice touch. Thanks for posting this.