Most famous of all geysers is Old Faithful. It is everything you would
expect to see in a geyser. Old Faithful has the showman’s touch, as
well. With a rumbling fanfare and roll of drums beneath the thin shell
of the earth, Old Faithful goes into action. Then a hissing, boiling
pillar of water spurts into the air. Rapidly it gains momentum until it
reaches a height of 140 feet or more.
For four minutes it continues to play, and then gradually dies away.
Tiny wisps of steam linger a moment, and then disappear. Old Faithful
puts on its show within a few minutes of a specified time. The average
interval between eruptions is 65 minutes.
It is staggering to conceive just how much water Old Faithful hurls
skyward during each of its extraordinary performances. It has been
estimated, however, that in a single day this geyser discharges
approximately 250,000 gallons of water.
To see Old Faithful at night is, perhaps, the most wondrous sight of
all. A giant searchlight is thrown upon its towering plume, and the
steaming column of water, thus caught in the vivid, white light,
presents a spectacle which becomes an everlasting memory of your trip to
Yellowstone.
[Illustration: Old Faithful reaches for the clouds]