The Yellowstone National Park Part 19

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

The Teton Range.

The Grand Teton in the center.]

They were astonished to find, on a point but little lower than the main summit, a rude shelter of granite slabs evidently put in place by human hands ages ago.

_Nez Perce Creek_ (18 miles) is the largest branch of the Firehole, and is of historic interest from its connection with the Indian campaign of 1877. It forms the north boundary of the _Lower Geyser Basin_. Two miles beyond it is the _Fountain Hotel_.

To attempt any thing like a detailed description of the Firehole Geyser regions would be intolerable alike to reader and author. Of the objects of interest, any one of which in other localities would attract marked attention, there are several thousand. In the present description, therefore, only the more important features will be noticed--those notable objects to see which is an indispensable part of any well ordered tour of the Park.

The _Fountain Geyser_ is a typical example of the first cla.s.s of geysers described in a previous chapter. Its proximity to the hotel (one-fourth mile) causes it to be much visited.

_The Mammoth Paint Pots_, a little way east of the Fountain, are probably the most prominent example of this cla.s.s of phenomena in the Park.

The _Great Fountain Geyser_ lies a mile and a half south-east of the Fountain. It is the chief wonder of the Lower Basin, and, in some respects, the most remarkable geyser in the Park. Its formation is quite unlike that of any other. At first sight the visitor is tempted to believe that some one has here placed a vast pedestal upon which to erect a monument. It is a broad, circular table about two feet high, composed entirely of hard siliceous deposit. In its surface are numerous pools molded and ornamented in a manner quite unapproached, at least on so large a scale, in any other part of the Park. In the center of the pedestal, where the monument ought to stand, is a large irregular pool of great depth, full of hot water, forming, to all appearances, a lovely quiescent spring. At times of eruption, the contents of this spring are hurled bodily upward to a height sometimes reaching 100 feet. The torrent of water which follows the prodigious down-pouring upon the face of the pedestal, flows away in all directions over the white geyserite plain. No visitor to the Yellowstone can afford to miss the Great Fountain Geyser.

In this vicinity are several of the handsomest springs in the Park.

One in particular lies just across the hot stream which flows a little to the south of the Great Fountain. It is shaped like an egg set endwise in the ground with the upper part of the sh.e.l.l broken off. It is an exquisite trifle.

In a small valley, extending to the north-east from the Great Fountain, are several objects worthy of notice. One of these is an immense hot lake, by far the largest in the Park. _Steady Geyser_ and _Young Hopeful_, near the head of the valley, are not remarkable in this land of geysers.

The princ.i.p.al attraction of the locality is what has come to be called the _Firehole_. It is at the extreme upper end of the valley, difficult to find, and unsatisfactory to visit when the wind agitates the water surface. It is a large hot spring from the bottom of which, to all appearances, a light colored flame is constantly issuing, only to be extinguished in the water before it reaches the surface. At times it has a distinct ruddy tinge and it always flickers back and forth like the lambent flame of a torch. When seen under favorable conditions, the illusion is perfect, and the beholder is sure that he has at last caught a glimpse of the hidden fires which produce the weird phenomena of this region. But it is only illusion. Through a fissure in the rock gas or superheated steam escapes and divides the water, just as bubbles do on a smaller scale. The reflection from the surface thus formed accounts for the appearance, which is intensified by the black background formed by the sides and bottom of the pool.

The Lower Geyser Basin has an area of thirty square miles. Conspicuous among its topographical features are the _Twin b.u.t.tes_, two prominent peaks west of the river which dominate the entire basin. A little way south of these is _Fairy Fall_, a pretty cascade 250 feet high.

There will be included in this chapter, as more properly belonging to it than to the next, a description of the _Midway Geyser Basin_. Its princ.i.p.al interest lies in the stupendous character of its phenomena.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Excelsior Geyser.]

_Excelsior Geyser_, as a dynamic agent, has no equal in the Park. It is really a water volcano, and its eruptions have nothing of the characteristic display of a genuine geyser. Its crater is a vast seething cauldron close by the brink of the Firehole River, into which, in non-eruptive periods even, it pours 4,000 gallons of water per minute. The shape of the crater is irregular. Its dimensions are about 330 by 200 feet, and 20 feet deep. It was not known to be a geyser until 1878, and did not really disclose its true character until the winter of 1881. During the remainder of that year and 1882, it gave continuous exhibitions of its power. Its water column was more than 50 feet in diameter, and at times rose to the enormous height of 250 feet. At such times, it doubled the volume of water in the Firehole River. Its eruptions were frequently accompanied by the ejection of large rocks. A second period of activity took place in 1888, since which time it has remained inactive.

_Prismatic Lake_ is the most perfect spring of its kind in the world.

It rests on the summit of a self-built mound, sloping very gently in all directions. Down this slope the overflow from the spring descends in tiny rivulets, every-where interlaced with each other. A map of the mound resembles a spider web, with the spider (the spring) in the center. The pool is 250 by 300 feet in size. Over the lake hangs an ever-present cloud of steam, which itself often bears a crimson tinge, reflected from the waters below. The steam unfortunately obscures the surface of the lake, and one involuntarily wishes for a row-boat, in which to explore its unseen portions. Wherever visible, there is a varied and wonderful play of colors, which fully justifies the name.

_Turquoise Spring_ is another large pool, 100 feet in diameter, and rivals Prismatic Lake in the beauty of its coloring.

The Midway Geyser Basin contains hundreds of other springs, some of them very beautiful, but the Basin is mainly noted for the three features just described.

CHAPTER XVI.

A TOUR OF THE PARK.

_Lower Geyser Basin to Upper Geyser Basin._

Distance, nine miles. Road follows the Firehole River. Midway Geyser Basin, already described, is pa.s.sed four miles out. No other object of interest is met until the visitor actually arrives at the _Upper Basin_.

This locality is probably the most popular with the tourist of any in the Park. Its two rivals, the Grand Canon and the Yellowstone Lake, are so unlike it as not to admit of any comparison. It is the home of the genus _geyser_, as seen in its highest development. There are fifteen examples of the first magnitude and scores of less important ones.[BC] The quiescent pools and springs are also numerous and of great beauty.

[BC] For list of names of geysers, with heights of eruptions, see Appendix A, VII.

The first important feature _en route_ is the _Biscuit Basin_, which is reached by a side road leading to the west bank of the Firehole River. It contains a fine geyser and several beautiful springs. The most interesting are the _Jewell Geyser_ and the _Sapphire Pool_. Near this locality is the _Mystic Falls_, a fine cascade, on the Little Firehole River.

_Artemesia Geyser_ comes next to the attention of the tourist. It has been known as a geyser only since 1886. It is on the right of the roadway, at a considerably lower level.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

SKETCH MAP OF THE UPPER GEYSER BASIN

_Opp. page 228._ ]

The _Morning Glory_ is a little further up stream. In this beautiful object the quiescent pool is at its best. Its exquisite bordering and the deep cerulean hue of its transparent waters make it, and others like it, objects of ceaseless admiration.

The _Fan Geyser_ is close by the Firehole on the east bank, not far above the Morning Glory. The _Riverside_ is also on the east bank at the point where the road crosses the river. It is an inconspicuous object when not in eruption, and one would scarcely suspect it of being a geyser. It spouts obliquely across the river, and not, like most geysers, vertically.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Gandy._

Grotto Geyser Cone.]

Next in order, after crossing the river to the Westbank, is the _Grotto_, remarkable for its irregular and cavernous crater. A little further on, close to the river, stands the broken crater of one of the Park's greatest geysers, the _Giant_. Lieutenant Doane compared its crater to a "huge shattered horn."

A few hundred feet further up stream, still close to the river, is the _Oblong_. Directly across the road, but a short distance away, is the _Splendid_, well worthy of its name; and near it, sometimes playing simultaneously, is the _Comet_.

To the westward from the Firehole, nearly on the divide between it and Iron Creek, is a lovely spring, called the _Punch-bowl_. Across the divide in the _Iron Creek_ valley is the _Black Sand Basin_, a unique but beautiful pool. Near it is another attraction, _Specimen Lake_, so named from an abundance of specimens of partly petrified wood. The limit of curiosities in this direction is _Emerald Pool_, which competent judges p.r.o.nounce to be the finest quiescent spring in the Park.

Returning to the Firehole by a different route, we pa.s.s a large spring or geyser known as the _Three Crater Spring_. Its three craters are connected by narrow water ways, making one continuous pool, though fed from three sources.

A thousand feet to the north, stands the most imposing crater in the Park, that of the _Castle_ geyser. It is frequently seen in moderate eruption, but rarely when doing its best. As ordinarily seen, it throws a column of water only 50 or 60 feet, but at times it plays as high as 150 or 200 feet.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._

Castle Geyser.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: