Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Park

Thomas Moran's pencil sketch captures the dramatic geothermal landscape of Yellowstone's Norris Basin. Billowing steam plumes dominate the composition, rendered with fluid, gestural lines that convey movement and scale. The foreground's rocky debris and sparse vegetation ground the scene, while distant peaks anchor the horizon. Moran's preliminary study demonstrates the visual strategies that made his finished paintings influential in promoting Western landscape preservation during the late nineteenth century.