Jeannie Johnson takes a picture of her children, Baxter and Bailey Furhmann, in front of the 45th parallel sign between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner at Yellowstone National Park.
National Park Service
A sign north of where the road crosses the Gardner River marks
the 45th parallel of latitude. The 45th parallel is an imaginary
line that circles the globe halfway between the equator and the
North Pole. This same line passes through Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Ottawa, Bordeaux, Venice, Belgrade, and the northern tip of the
Japanese islands. It is, here in Yellowstone, roughly aligned with
the Montana-Wyoming border.
A little distance south of the sign, a parking area on the east
side of the road is used by bathers in the "Boiling River." Bathers
must walk upstream about a half mile from the parking area to the
place where the footpath reaches the river. This spot is also
marked by large clouds of steam, especially in cold weather. Here,
a large hot spring, known as Boiling River, enters the Gardner
River. The hot and the cold water mix in pools along the river's
edge. Bathers are allowed in the river during daylight hours only.
Bathing suits are required, and no alcoholic beverages are allowed.
Boiling River is closed in the springtime due to hazardous high
water and often does not reopen until mid-summer.
Jeannie Johnson takes a picture of her children, Baxter and Bailey Furhmann, in front of the 45th parallel sign between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner at Yellowstone National Park.
