A TOUR OF THE PARK.
_Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris Geyser Basin._
Distance, twenty miles. The first object of interest, after ascending
the long hill above the Springs (four miles), is the _Gallatin Range_
of mountains, which bursts into full view upon emerging from Kingman
Pass. Its various peaks--_Joseph_, _Gray_, _Bannock_, _Quadrant_, _the
Dome_, _Mt. Holmes_, and others--still retain the heavy snow drifts of
the previous winter. Some of these peaks remain in sight for thirty
miles along the tourist route.
_Swan Lake_ (4.5 miles) is a little pond on the right of the road.
_Willow Park_ (8 miles) comprises the valley of the lower course of
Obsidian Creek. It is a dense growth of willows, and forms an
attractive sight, either in the fresh foliage of spring or in its
autumnal coloring.
_Apollinaris Spring_ (10 miles) is on the left of the roadway, in a
pine forest. Tourists generally stop and try its water.
_Obsidian Cliff_ (12 miles) is composed of a kind of volcanic glass,
black as anthracite, which abounds at this point in enormous masses.
The Indians once quarried implements of war and the chase here, and
many fine arrowheads have been picked up by explorers. The building of
the first road along the base of this cliff has some historic
celebrity, owing to the novel method employed. It was done by Colonel
Norris, who thus describes it:
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._
Obsidian Cliff and Beaver Lake.]
"Obsidian there rises like basalt in vertical columns many hundreds of
feet high, and countless huge masses had fallen from this utterly
impassable mountain into the hissing hot spring margin of an equally
impassable lake, without either Indian or game trail over the
glistering fragments of Nature's glass, sure to severely lacerate. As
this glass barricade sloped from some 200 or 300 feet high against the
cliff at an angle of some 45° to the lake, we--with the slivered
fragments of timber thrown from the heights--with huge fires, heated
and expanded, and then men, well screened by blankets held by others,
by dashing cold water, suddenly cooled and fractured the large masses.
Then, with huge levers, steel bars, sledge, pick, and shovels, and
severe laceration of at least the hands and faces of every member of
the party, we rolled, slid, crushed, and shoveled one-fourth of a
mile of good wagon road midway along the slope; it being, so far as I
am aware, the only road of native glass upon the continent."[BA]
[BA] Annual Report Superintendent of the Park, 1878.
The reader may now be inclined to take issue with our judgment of
Norris' practical turn for road building. He will at least readily
indorse our opinion of the old mountaineer's literary ability. (See
"Norris Peak," Appendix A.)
_Beaver Lake_ has its outlet opposite the base of Obsidian Cliff. It
is formed by ancient beaver dams, now entirely overgrown with
vegetation. The old dam extends in a sinuous line entirely across the
valley, and, although apparently less than a yard thick, is quite
impervious to water. The lake is a great resort for water fowl later
in the year.
_Roaring Mountain_ (15.5 miles) is a high hill on the left of the
road, with a powerful steam vent near the summit. Nothing which can
now be heard from the road would suggest the name.
_Twin Lakes_ (16 miles) are two exquisitely beautiful ponds, if only
seen in a good sunlight and with a tranquil surface. The peculiar
green of the water is perhaps to be seen nowhere except in the
National Park. A most singular feature of these two lakes is that,
although so close together, they never simultaneously exhibit the same
colors.
_The Frying Pan_ (17.75 miles) is a small basin of geyserite, on the
right of the road, vigorously stewing away in a manner which reminds
one of a kitchen spider in operation.
After passing Obsidian Cliff evidences of hot spring action constantly
increase, until they reach their climax in the _Norris Geyser Basin_.
There are but few other places in the Park where the odor of sulphur
is so general and offensive as on this portion of the tourist route.
Norris Geyser Basin is clearly among the more recent volcanic
developments of this region. Its rapid encroachment upon the forest
growth, and the frequent appearance of new springs and the
disappearance of others, indicate its relatively recent origin.
Compared with the Firehole Geyser Basin it is of minor importance; but
coming first to the notice of the tourist it receives a large amount
of attention. It has only one prominent geyser, the _Monarch_, which
throws a column about 100 feet high. The _Constant_ is visible from
the roadway in the bottom of a large tract of geyserite which is
unsafe for pedestrians. It makes up in frequency of action what it
lacks in power. The most noteworthy feature of the basin has received
the appropriate name _Hurricane_. It is a prodigious steam vent whose
violent gusts bear a striking resemblance to the driving blasts of a
tempest. It also discharges a large amount of water. The _Black
Growler_, close by the road side, is a similar phenomenon.
Among the less important features of this basin may be mentioned the
_Congress_, _Constant_, _Arsenic_, _Echinus_, _Fearless_, _Pearl_,
_Vixen_, _Minute Man_, and _Mew Crater_, all geysers; the _Emerald
Pool_, a quiescent spring; and the _Locomotive_ and _Mud Geyser_,
boiling springs.
From the Norris Hotel a drive of three miles up the Gibbon River, on
the cross road leading to the Grand Cañon, carries the tourist to
_Virginia Cascade_, a unique and picturesque water-fall in a rocky
cañon of considerable beauty.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._
Black Growler.]
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._
Gibbon Cañon.]