The snowstorm from the previous day had blanketed Soda Butte and much of Yellowstone along the Northeast Entrance Road in a layer of white. Soda Butte is not actually comprised of soda (sodium carbonate) as early prospectors thought. The name stuck, however, and it is still called Soda Butte despite the fact that it is actually a deposit of Travertine (calcium carbonate) like in Mammoth Hot Springs.