A TOUR OF THE PARK.
_Upper Geyser Basin to the Yellowstone Lake._
Distance, nineteen miles. The route ascends the Firehole River to the
mouth of Spring Creek, which stream it follows to the Continental
Divide. For seven miles it then lies on the Pacific slope, after which
it descends the mountains to the Yellowstone Lake. The drive is one of
the most pleasant in the Park, and the scenery is unconventional and
wild.
_Kepler Cascade_ (1.25 miles) is a fascinating water-fall. Lieutenant
Doane, who first wrote of it, says:[BH]
"These pretty little falls, if located on an eastern stream, would be
celebrated in history and song; here, amid objects so grand as to
strain conception and stagger belief, they were passed without a
halt."
[BH] Page 27, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.
We counsel the tourist not to so pass them.
Half a mile up the Firehole, above the mouth of Spring Creek, is the
_Lone Star Geyser_ (4 miles). This geyser is conspicuous chiefly for
its fine cone. It plays frequently to a height of 40 or 50 feet.
_Madison Lake_, ten miles further up the valley, is the ultimate lake
source of the Madison River. This lake, with possibly the exception of
Red Rock Lake, the source of the Jefferson, is further from the sea by
direct water-course than any other lake on the globe.
Returning down the Firehole, we enter the mouth of _Spring Creek
Cañon_ (3.5 miles), which the road traverses for a distance of two and
one-half miles. This narrow, winding, rocky cañon, under the shadow of
the Continental Divide, is full of picturesque turns and surprises.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._
Lone Star Geyser.]
The first crossing of the _Continental Divide_ (8.5 miles) is through
a narrow cañon, _Craig Pass_, hemmed in by precipitous cliffs,
inclosing a lily-covered pond, _Isa Lake_, which rests squarely upon
the doubtful ground between the two oceans.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Haynes, Photo., St. Paul._
Shoshone Lake.]
_Shoshone Point_ (10.5 miles) is in the center of the large
amphitheater-shaped tract which is drained by the branches of _De Lacy
Creek_. It overlooks _Shoshone Lake_ and the broad basin surrounding
it, and gives a second glimpse of the Teton Mountains.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._
Isa Lake and Craig Pass.]
Shoshone Lake is a lovely body of water, with an area of twelve square
miles and a most picturesque shore line. On its west shore is a geyser
basin, second in importance only to those on the Firehole. Among its
many interesting features may be mentioned the _Union Geyser_, of
which the middle crater plays to a height of 100 feet; and the _Bronze
Geyser_, very striking because of the perfect metallic luster of its
formation.
From Shoshone Point, the road again ascends to the Continental Divide,
and then drops down the Atlantic slope toward the Yellowstone Valley.
_Lake View_ (18 miles) is at a point where a sudden turn in the forest
road brings the tourist, quite without warning, in full view of one of
the most striking water landscapes in the world. The whole vista of
the _Yellowstone Lake_ is spread out before him, still 300 feet below
where he is standing. Far to the right and left, along the distant
eastern shore, extends the _Absaroka Range_ of mountains, many of its
summits still capped with snow. Every-where the dark pine forests come
down to the water's edge, in fine contrast with the silver surface of
the lake. The sparkling of the waves, the passage of the cloud
shadows, and, in sheltered coves, the tranquil mirror of the waters,
all combine to make the picture one to be long remembered.
The Yellowstone Lake is about 7,741 feet, nearly a mile and a half,
above the level of the sea. It has a shore line of 100 miles, and an
area of 139 square miles. Its maximum depth is 300 feet, and its
average depth about 30 feet. It is fed almost entirely from the
springs and snow drifts of the Absaroka Range. Its waters are icy
cold, clear and transparent to great depths, and literally swarm with
trout. It is subject to heavy south-west winds, and at times is lashed
into tempestuous seas.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories._
Yellowstone Lake.]
The shape of the lake was compared by the early explorers to the form
of the human hand. The resemblance is exceedingly remote, and one
writer has well observed that only the hand of a base ball player who
has stood for years behind the bat could satisfy the comparison. The
"fingers" have now been generally dropped from the maps and replaced
by the usual names; but "West Thumb" seems to have become a fixture.
Surpassing the Yellowstone Lake both in area and altitude there are
but few lakes in the world. Lake Titticaca, in Peru, and one or two
others in the less explored regions of the Andes; and also a few lakes
on the lofty table-land of Thibet, comprise the number.
The Yellowstone Lake has been a theme of enthusiastic praise by all
who have ever seen it; but what seems to us the most exquisite tribute
it has ever received is to be found in the farewell words of Mr.
Folsom, when, in 1869, he regretfully turned away from its western
shore into the deep forests which surround it:[BI]
"As we were about departing on our homeward trip, we ascended the
summit of a neighboring hill and took a final look at Yellowstone
Lake. Nestled among the forest-crowned hills which bounded our
visions, lay this inland sea, its crystal waves dancing and sparkling
in the sunlight as if laughing with joy for their wild freedom. It is
a scene of transcendent beauty which has been viewed by but few white
men, and we felt glad to have looked upon it before its primeval
solitude should be broken by the crowds of pleasure seekers which at
no distant day will throng its shores."
[BI] Page 20, Langford's reprint of the "Valley of the Upper
Yellowstone." See Appendix E.
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Gandy._
Fishing Cone.]
On the west shore of the lake is an extensive and important hot
springs basin. The principal features are the _Paint Pots_, not
inferior to those near the Fountain Hotel; two of the largest and most
beautiful quiescent springs in the Park; the _Lake Shore_ Geyser,
which plays frequently to a height of about 30 feet; an unnamed geyser
of considerable power but of very infrequent action; and the
celebrated _Fishing Cone_ where unfortunate trout find catching and
cooking painfully near together.
From the west shore of the lake a visit can be advantageously made to
_Hart Lake_ and _Mount Sheridan_. The lake is probably the prettiest
in the Park. Near it, on the tributary _Witch Creek_, is a small but
important geyser basin. The principal features are the _Deluge_,
_Spike_ and _Rustic_ geysers, and the _Fissure Group_ of springs. The
Rustic Geyser is remarkable in having about it a cordon of logs,
evidently placed there by the Indians or white men many years ago. The
logs are completely incrusted with the deposits of the springs.
Mt. Sheridan would rank with Mt. Washburn as a popular peak for
mountain climbers were it only more accessible. No summit in the Park
affords a finer prospect.
From the west shore to the Lake Outlet the tourist may travel either
by stage around the border of the lake, or by boat across it. If he
does not want to miss one of the notable features of the tour he will
not omit the boat ride. In fact, a steamboat ride, at an altitude more
than a quarter of a mile greater than that of the summit of Mt.
Washington is not an every day diversion. From near the center of the
lake the view is surpassingly fine. To the south and south-west the
long arms of the lake penetrate the dark forest-crowned hills, which
are but stepping stones to the lofty mountains behind them. Far beyond
these may again be seen for the third time the familiar peaks of the
Tetons. All along the eastern shore stand the serried peaks of the
Absaroka Range, the boundary which nature has so well established
along the eastern border of the Park. A notable feature of this range
is the profile of a human face formed by the superimposed contours of
two mountains, one several miles behind the other. The best effect is
had from points between _Stevenson Island_ and the _Lake Hotel_. The
face is looking directly upward. A similar profile, noted by the
early explorers from the summit of Mt. Washburn, and nearly in the
same locality as this, although of course not the same feature, was
called by them the "Giant's Face," or the "Old Man of the Mountain."
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._ _Gandy._
Natural Bridge.]
On the north-east shore of the lake are _Steamboat Spring_, and other
thermal phenomena worth visiting. From _Bridge Bay_ at the north-west
of the lake, a trip of a mile will take the tourist to an extremely
interesting freak of nature in the form of a _Natural Bridge_ over a
small tributary of Bridge Creek. The arch is forty-one feet high with
a thirty foot span. As seen from the down stream side it is very
regular and symmetrical.
Some twenty miles above the head of the lake is the celebrated
_Two-Ocean Pass_, long known to the early trappers. It is probably the
most remarkable example of such a phenomenon in the world. Although
the fact of its existence was asserted and stoutly maintained by
Bridger for many years prior to the discovery of the Park region, it
was generally disbelieved until Captain Jones crossed the pass in
1873. It has since been visited and described by Hayden in 1878, by
Hague in 1884, and by Prof. Evermann of the United States Fish
Commission in 1891. The following facts and map are taken from Prof.
Evermann's report:
[Illustration:
_Terry Engr. Co._
Sketch of Two-Ocean Pass.]
The pass is in a nearly level grassy park hemmed in by the surrounding
hills, and is 8,150 feet above the level of the sea. Its extreme
length is about one mile and its extreme breadth about three-fourths
of a mile. From the north a stream issues from a cañon, _a_, and
divides at _b_, part flowing to Atlantic Creek and part to Pacific
Creek. A similar stream, _c_, with a similar division, _d_, comes from
the south. At extreme low water, these divisions may possibly
disappear and all the water flow either one way or the other. But at
ordinary and high stages the water flows both ways. These streams are
by no means insignificant rivulets, but substantial water-courses
capable of affording passage to fish of considerable size.
Here, then, we have the very interesting phenomenon of a single stream
upon the summit of the continent dividing and flowing part one way and
part the other, and forming a continuous water connection between the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans over a distance of nearly 6,000 miles.
A most singular and interesting acoustic phenomenon of this region,
although rarely noticed by tourists, is the occurrence of strange and
indefinable overhead sounds. They have long been noted by explorers,
but only in the vicinity of Shoshone and Yellowstone Lakes. They seem
to occur in the morning, and to last only for a moment. They have an
apparent motion through the air, the general direction noted by
writers being from north to south. The following descriptions are from
the pens of those who have given some study to these strange sounds.
Prof. S. A. Forbes says:
"It put me in mind of the vibrating clang of a harp lightly and
rapidly touched high up above the tree tops, or the sound of many
telegraph wires swinging regularly and rapidly in the wind, or, more
rarely, of faintly heard voices answering each other overhead. It
begins softly in the remote distance, draws rapidly near with louder
and louder throbs of sound, and dies away in the opposite direction;
or it may seem to wander irregularly about, the whole passage lasting
from a few seconds to half a minute or more."[BJ]
[BJ] "Overhead sounds in the vicinity of Yellowstone Lake." See
Appendix E.
Mr. Edwin Linton thus describes it:
"It seemed to begin at a distance, grow louder overhead where it
filled the upper air, and suggested a medley of wind in the tops of
pine trees, and in telegraph wires, the echo of bells after being
repeated several times, the humming of a swarm of bees, and two or
three other less definite sources of sound, making in all a composite
which was not loud, but easily recognized, and not at all likely to be
mistaken for any other sound in these mountain solitudes."[BK]
[BK] "Overhead sounds in the vicinity of Yellowstone Lake." See
Appendix E.
No rational explanation has ever been advanced for this remarkable
phenomenon. Its weird character is in keeping with its strange
surroundings. In other lands and times it would have been an object of
superstitious reverence or dread, and would have found a permanent
place in the traditions of the people.