NORRIS GEYSER BASIN
When we arrived at NORRIS (formerly Gibbon) GEYSER BASIN, I was so
cold I could scarcely use my limbs. The first attraction was a great,
boiling spring at the left as we entered the basin. I immediately felt
the change in the atmosphere, and soon got warm after reaching the
board walk under which the boiling water was flowing, the hot steam
everywhere being forced out through apertures.
Here was my first sight of the clear water geysers. The CONSTANT, with
a maximum height of twenty feet, plays at intervals of from thirty to
sixty seconds. The MINUTE MAN plays at intervals of from one to three
minutes with a duration of about the same length of time. In this
basin are also the ECHINUS, the FEARLESS, the MONARCH, with a maximum
height of fifty feet, playing at intervals of twenty-five to sixty
minutes, the NEW CRATER, the WHIRLIGIG, and the VALENTINE. The
maximum height of the Valentine is a hundred feet and the time of
eruptions varies from twenty-two to thirty hours.
The BLACK GROWLER STEAM VENT growled continually, sending forth great
volumes of steam. The deposit around the crater is black in some
places. The vent north of the Black Growler is called the HURRICANE.
It looks much like the former, but is not so active. The BATH TUB does
not erupt, but is in constant agitation. EMERALD POOL is a large lake
of boiling water, green in appearance.
NEW CRATER GEYSER is surrounded by large blocks of yellow rock. In the
vicinity of this geyser, in 1891, a commotion occurred, very much like
an earthquake, when great volumes of water were forced out. Since then
there have been only ordinary eruptions, about every three minutes.
The form of the crater is such that the water is prevented from
attaining any great height.
MONARCH GEYSER, near the base of the hill, is almost surrounded by
beautifully colored rocks. The crater has two openings, the larger of
which is twenty feet long and three feet wide. Eruptions occur without
warning, and water is thrown a hundred feet high. The intervals
between eruptions are about six hours.
[Illustration: NORRIS GEYSER BASIN © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
The FEARLESS GEYSER throws water in every direction, apparently
defying those who wish to approach it. NORRIS is a new geyser, and is
probably changing more rapidly than any other in the basin. One never
knows what changes a season may bring forth.
The MINUTE MAN is always interesting, especially on account of its
regularity. Its crater seems originally to have been merely a fissure
in a rock.
A few miles from Norris Basin is ELK PARK, a valley surrounded by
timbered hills. Across the river from the road is CHOCOLATE SPRING,
which has built a cone of chocolate color.
MONUMENT GEYSER BASIN is on the summit of MT. SCHURZ. There is not
much to justify the tourist in making the ascent, as there are only a
dozen or two of crumbling geyser cones, some of which steam and
rumble, while others are apparently extinct.
On the east side of the river we entered GIBBON CANYON, and for
several miles were shadowed by towering cliffs, in some places a
thousand feet high.
BERYL SPRING is the largest boiling spring in the canyon. It is
fifteen feet across, and about a mile from the entrance. While our
touring car was dashing around the mountainside, suddenly we came to
GIBBON FALL. Here, from a height of over eighty feet, bubbling and
foaming torrents of water tumble down the steep cascades.
At NATIONAL PARK MOUNTAIN, our driver announced that we were at the
confluence of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers. It was here that the
famous Washburn exploring party, in 1870, decided that the Yellowstone
region should be set aside as a National Park, and from that time put
forth their efforts to this end. Among the most enthusiastic were
Cornelius Hedges, David E. Folsom, Lieut. Doane, and Nathaniel P.
Langford. How providential it was that these unselfish,
public-spirited men should have taken up the subject at that time!
I did not know that the junction of the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers was
an historical place, but was so fascinated with the scenery, I felt
that I should like to camp there for a week, and have an opportunity
to make notes preparatory to publishing an account of my trip. To me,
there was unusual attraction, and something very romantic, about the
Firehole River. I had heard how it was fed by the geysers and boiling
springs, and this added enchantment to its many charms. At one place I
saw a great boulder in the river, from the sides of which were growing
two spruce or pine trees.
[Illustration: NATIONAL PARK MOUNTAIN © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
At the LOWER and MIDWAY BASINS are the GREAT FOUNTAIN and EXCELSIOR
GEYSERS. The Excelsior, better known as "Hell's Half Acre," ceased to
play in 1888. Previous to this it was known to throw water to a height
of 300 feet, the time of the eruptions varying from one to four hours.
GREAT FOUNTAIN expels the water to a height of 100 feet, playing for
thirty minutes, and its eruptions are from eight to twelve hours
apart. At the present time Excelsior Geyser is a boiling lake, where
the steam often prevents one from getting a good view of it.
The MAMMOTH PAINT POTS held my undivided interest for the limited time
that I had. This is a boiling mass of mud, white at the center, and
gradually developing into a beautiful pink, or flesh color toward the
outer edges. The caldron of waxen mixture has a basin forty by sixty
feet in size, with a rim about five feet high. The mud in the center
bubbles up continually, "plop, plop," under the pressure of heat,
and cools off toward the outer edges.
[Illustration: "HELL'S HALF ACRE" © _Haynes, St. Paul_]
David E. Folsom witnessed a display of the Great Fountain Geyser in
1869:
"The hole through which the water was discharged was ten
feet in diameter, and was situated in the center of a large
circular shallow basin into which the water fell. There was
a stiff breeze blowing at the time, and by going to the
windward side and carefully picking our way over convenient
stones we were enabled to reach the edge of the hole. At
that moment the escaping steam was causing the water to boil
up in a fountain five or six feet high. It stopped in an
instant, and commenced settling down--twenty, thirty, forty
feet--until we concluded that the bottom had fallen out, but
the next instant, without any warning, it came rushing up
and shot into the air at least eighty feet, causing us to
stampede. It continued to spout at intervals of a few
moments for some time, but finally subsided."
PRISMATIC LAKE fairly dazzled me with its beauty. In the center it is
a deep blue, blending into green toward the edges. In the shallow
portion it is yellow, blending into orange at the edges. The water
sparkles and flows off in every direction over the slightly raised rim
of the lake. Its beauty and delicacy of coloring are impossible to
describe. It is heated to nearly 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
BISCUIT BASIN and SAPPHIRE POOL are places of much interest, also
JEWEL GEYSER, ARTEMISIA GEYSER, etc.
MORNING GLORY SPRING, near Riverside Bridge, presented to me an idea
of what the earth will be when the curse is lifted and it is clothed
in Edenic glory. It is twenty-three feet in diameter, with a
temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and with an apparent depth of
about thirty feet.
I had not previously made a study of the Park, and never knew what was
coming next, but before I reached Old Faithful Camp at the Upper
Geyser Basin, I felt that I had seen enough to repay me a
thousand-fold for any expense or effort that was being made in the
tour of the Yellowstone, which to me was truly a world of wonders.
[Illustration: MAMMOTH PAINT POTS © _Haynes, St. Paul_]