There are lots of fun facts about fumaroles. Did you know that:

• Steam vents and fumaroles are two names for the same thing.
• Fumaroles, from the Latin word fumus meaning smoke, are would be hot springs.
• These vents in the Earth's surface emit steam rather than water because the superheated water turns to vapor before it escapes.
• Many fumaroles give off gasses, some are odorless others are really smelly.
• Minerals and thermophiles, heat-loving microorganisms, paint the mouth of steam vents a rainbow of colors.
• Fumaroles don't gurgle and spout. They hiss and roar.
• Steam vents are found on or near active volcanoes.
• Fumaroles are the hottest hydrothermal feature and like geysers, hot springs and mudpots they are heated by molten rock or magma a mile or more underground.
• There are approximately 4,000 fumaroles in Yellowstone National Park.