After The Fire Life Begins

This photograph was taken in July 2005 between fishing bridge and the east entrance to Yellowstone. In Yellowstone life begins after the fire. Many of the trees in the park are lodgepole pines. The cones of these trees are sealed by resin and only release their seeds after the cones have been exposed to extreme heat. It has also been found in Yellowstone that bears frequent areas recently burnt for better feeding. More on wildfires in Yellowstone can be found at this link http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wildlandfire.htm

The flower in the photo is common in areas damaged by wildfires they are called fireweed. To learn more about fireweed check out this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireweed