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Trumball Journal
Index
THE WASHBURN YELLOWSTONE EXPEDITION.
NO. II.
Page 11
Crossing the river, we named the "Fantail" geyser from the fact that it
discharged two streams from its vent which spread out very much like a fan.
One of the most remarkable geysers was "The Giantess." for yards around
the ground rose gradually to its crater, but immediately about it was no
formation rising above the surface, as was the case with all the other
geysers which we saw in active operation. When quiet, it was a clear,
beautiful pool, caught in a subsilica urn, or vase, with a hollow,
bottomless stem, through which the steam came bubbling, just like the
effervescence of champagne from the bottom of a long, hollow-necked glass.
The mouth of the vase, represented by the surface, was twenty feet by
thirty; and the neck, fifty feet below, was fifteen feet by ten. The water,
at times, retired to the level of the neck, or vent, and at other times rose
nearly to the surface. when in action, "The Giantess" became a fountain
with five jets, shooting the spray to a height of two hundred feet. At the
surface the largest jet was about two feet in diameter, and it kept in solid
column for more than a hundred and fifty feet before breaking into drops and
spray. It burst forth just before sunset, and the last rays of light gave
prismatic tints to the glistening drops, when, having reached their utmost
altitude, they trembled at their coming fall. The clouds of steam, which in
this, as in all other instances, accompanied the boiling water, became a
golden fleece lit up by wreaths of rainbows. Though inferior to "The Giant"
in immensity of volume, and perhaps in grandeur, "the Giantess" was by far
the most beautiful sight we saw in the geyser basin.
"The Beehive"--named for the shape of its mound--was quite small, but
threw its water higher than any other geyser we saw. The stream was less
than two feet in diameter, and ascended two hundred and twenty feet, from
accurate measurement by triangulation. It remained in action only a few
moments.
We saw many other geysers in action, but those I have particularly
described were the most notable. They were all intermittent, few of them
continuing in action more than half an hour at a time. there were also many
mounds from which the water was evidently discharged at times, but they were
quiet during our stay. We were probably very fortunate in the time of our
visit, for those we left behind to search for Mr. Everts came by these
geysers several days later, and saw but two in operation: "The Fantail," and
a smaller one near it. They were, however, short of provisions, and
remained in the vicinity of the geysers but a few hours.
Steam-jets and clear, deep pools occurred in great numbers, all over the
geyser basin. The latter were very beautiful. Four or five miles below the
geyser basin, on the west side of the Fire Hole, were four hot lakes. They
were similar to the clear, pale-violet pools which we saw above, and at the
point where we left the lake, but were very much larger. Three of the party
paced around the largest one, making the circumference four hundred and
fifty paces. It looked very deep. The sides of the whitest subsilica,
converged at an angle of about forty-five degrees. It was full to the brim,
and a track, about twenty feet wide all around it, was covered with two
inches of water, which was so hot that it almost scalded our feet, through
heavy boots. Before our pacers got all the way round, they stepped not only
very high, but in quite a lively, animated style. Beyond the track of water
which circled the lake, the ground, covered with subsilica, sloped away
gradually on all sides. Immense volumes of steam rose from all these lakes,
and first attracted our attention to them. So much hot water flowed from
them that the Fire Hole was tempered for several miles below. We found no
fish anywhere in the Fire Hole, though after its junction with the Madison
they were quite plentiful.
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