‘Wishful’ Tourists May Have Damaged Yellowstone Thermal Pool

Have you ever made a wish by tossing a coin into a well? How about tossing a penny into the fountain at the mall? It has been a tradition for many years to toss a coin into a pool and make a wish. The ritual of the "wishing well" goes back thousands of years.

According to Wikipedia

A wishing well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted. The idea that a wish would be granted came from the notion that water housed deities or had been placed there as a gift from the gods. This practice is thought to have arisen because water is a source of life, and was often a scarce commodity.

 

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It appears that tourists have taken it upon themselves to treat a thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park as a "wishing well." Tossing thousands of coins into the popular "Morning Glory" thermal pool.

According to the Cowboy State Daily, 

Morning Glory Pool is now one of the lesser-known thermal pools in the Upper Geyser Basin near Old Faithful. Like an aging bison or a 1960s rock star, it’s not what it used to be, but it stands as a cautionary monument of how people can upset the delicate balance of Yellowstone’s unique ecosystem.

That’s because Morning Glory used to be unique, a brilliant crystal-clear blue that seemed to be bottomless. Then it was “discovered.”

Cowboy State Daily interviewed former Park Ranger, Jeff Henry, who is leading cleaning efforts. Henry said they had recovered "thousands of coins" from the pool. The coins have caused a chemical reaction in the pool. Interfering with the natural elements that give the pool its unique color.

The once crystal-clear thermal pool is now tainted with a rainbow of colors.