 As
you start on your
journey alone the Crater
Rim Drive, you'll likely
start to notice the
Sulphur banks (and if
you don't see them, you
will smell them.) A Sulphur
Bank is a solfatara. A
local
caldera fault, exposed
just north of the Sulphur Banks, serves as
a passage way for gases
that originate at deeper
levels in the volcano to
rise to the surface. In the past this
area has been used as a
health spa and sauna.
You
may notice that crystals
of native
 sulfur
precipitate on the
surrounding rocks
when the gasses reach the
surface. These crystals
are fragile, so please
don't touch or break
them off. Additional
minerals, including
gypsum, opal, and earthy
hematite, form by the
weathering of the
surrounding rocks
and the precipitation of
gases. Gypsum and opal
will likely appear as
the white coatings
you'll see
on the rocks. The hematite
is rusty colored red,
and stains many of the
rocks.
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