In the 1980s, researchers sought to gain a better understanding of Yellowstone’s famous geyser, Old Faithful, by using probes to measure temperature and pressure within the geyser's vent.

The temperature sensors recorded wild fluctuations, reflecting the volatile nature of the geyser. Not volatile enough, though, to insist visitors like these ones in 1982, step a little further back from Old Faithful’s erratic geothermal area.

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Read on to see what your state looked like in the 1970s...

Fascinating photos of every US state in the 1980s