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Grand Prismatic Spring
This hot spring, located in Yellowstone National Park, is the third largest hot spring in the world. In this image, the microbial mats that grow under extreme conditions of pH and temperature are colored orange, yellow, and brown. Contemporary Bacteria and Archaea likely descended from similar ancient hydrothermal ecosystems. Life in this environment has developed a diverse array of ways to extract energy and carbon from the interactions of water and hot rocks. Image courtesy of Roger Summons. |
