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Book Excerpt : The Eight Plateaus

Over the years of Yellowstone Park's history, explorers and geologists have discovered and named eight plateaus within the much larger Yellowstone plateau (see map for approximate locations). Four were created by volcanic flows; the other four simply fit the definition of a plateau; that is, an extensive raised land area that is relatively flat.
  1. Pitchstone Plateau is a geologically new expanse of rhyolite lava that flowed out of the caldera only 70,000 years ago in the most recent of the 30 or so relatively small eruptions of lava and ash since the last great caldera explosion. Since rain and snowmelt percolate rapidly through this ground, few streams are created, and trees grow only along the ridges. Today's hiker can find the pressure ridges caused by the wrinkling of lava that cooled at the surface. Pitchstone is another name for obsidian or volcanic glass, but such glass is not especially common on this plateau.
 map of plateaus Pitchstone Two Ocean Mirror Buffalo Blacktail Deer Solfatara Central Madison
  1. Two Ocean Plateau is a non-volcanic, high, rolling area about 10,000 feet (3050 m) high in the remote Thorofare corner. Its name comes from an area just south of the park boundary, from which creeks flow toward the two oceans. Not far from Two Ocean Pass are the sources of both the Snake and the Yellowstone rivers. Mountain man Jim Bridger knew the plateau well and may have been its discoverer in the early 19th century.
  2. Mirror Plateau has an average elevation of about 9000 feet (2750 m). It takes its name from little Mirror Lake, which is located on the drainage divide between the Lamar and Yellowstone rivers.
  3. Buffalo Plateau was first seen and named by a group of prospectors in 1870, when it was a grazing ground for thousands of buffalo.
  4. Blacktail Deer Plateau is an expanse of grass- and tree-covered glacial debris about 7000 feet (2130 m) high.
  5. Solfatara Plateau is a small and fairly recent volcanic flow dating back 105,000 years. The first known solfatara, near Naples, Italy, is a volcanic crater that exhales hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and steam. In Yellowstone, the Solfatara Plateau is an area with many fumaroles, where your nose may easily detect sulfurous gases.
  6. Central Plateau is centered in the lower loop of the Grand Loop Road. The Nez Perce lava flow on this plateau is 160,000 years old.
  7. Madison Plateau is the result of several lava flows of different ages. The West Entrance Road and the Grand Loop Road near Old Faithful both pass along its edges.

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link to the book This is an excerpt from Yellowstone Treasures, 3rd edition, pages 129–30.

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