Yellowstone Visitors Stunned As Man In Sandals Walks Across Scalding-Hot Grand Prismatic

Another day, another tourist doing something dumb and dangerous in Yellowstone National Park. 

Visitors to the park were stunned to see a man walking across a protected off-limits zone near Grand Prismatic Spring. The incident occurred on July 28, according to a post in the public Facebook group "Yellowstone: Invasion of the Idiots," where people can share incidents of visitors defying park rules and common-sense safety protocols. Sadly, there's a lot of that at Yellowstone.

RELATED: Another Moron Was Caught Walking Across Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring

The post included multiple photos of the unidentified man stepping out onto a bacterial mat near the spring. Witnesses said he "illegally and repeatedly" walked "all over the bacterial mats" while collecting hats that had blown onto the delicate area.

So maybe this guy's intentions were good. Maybe he thought he was doing nature a favor by tidying up. But his actions were certainly misguided.

Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in the United States and the third-largest in the world. It's famous for its stunning bright colors. The vivid blue, orange, red and green are a result of microbial mats of bacteria that call the spring home. 

One thing Grand Prismatic has in common with all thermal springs, though, is it's hot — really hot. The area is covered in a thin layer of crust over scalding water. The water temperature is near boiling, ranging in different spots from 145.4 to 188.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Which probably wouldn't feel too good on your sandaled tootsies if you accidentally stepped in the wrong spot.

Tourists visit the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

(Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

Aside from the obvious danger factor, trampling on the hot springs damages the fragile ecosystem and can be harmful to the organisms that call the Grand Prismatic home. 

The penalty for walking on Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park can include a fine, and a ban from the park and even jail time.

Yes, occasionally, personal items, like hats and sunglasses, get blown off tourists and onto the bacterial mats. But retrieval of these items should be left only to the park rangers, who know what they are doing — and who wear appropriate footwear.

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