Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-05-30
Yellowstone Parks Wonders.

Near the middle of the upper geyser basin. on
Fire Hole river, is "Grand Geyser," undoubtedly
the most remarkable In the world. 1t is stu
| ated on the summit of high ledge of stalag-
| mite. The Orifice has diameter of twenty-five
| feet, and when not in eruption visible depth
of 100 feet. The edge of this basin is bounded
by a heavy fringe Of rock, and stalagmite in
solid layers Is deposited by the overlooking
waters. When an eruption is about to occur
the basin gradually fills with boiling water to
within few feet Of the surface; then suddenly,
with heavy conclusions. immense clouds OF
steam rise to the height of 500 feet and the
whole great body of water, % feet in diameter
| ascends in one gigantic column to the height of
ninety feet. From the apex of this column five
great jets shoot up, radiating slightly from each
other, to the extraordinary altitude of 800 feet
from the ground The earth trembles under the
descending deluge from this vast fountain:
thousand Kissing sounds are heard in the air;
| ralnbows encircle the SUBMITS OF the jets with
halo; the falling water washes away the shelly
strata, and seething flood pours down the
slope and into the river. 1t is the grandest and
most terrible fountain in the world. After play
ing twenty minutes it subsidies. the water lowers
into the crater out of sight, the steam ceases to
escape and all is quiet. Its waters are of a deep
ultramarine color, clear and beautiful The
fluctuations of the gigantic fountain in the bright
sunlight, when its jets are at their highest. afford
spectacle Of which any description can give
but a feeble idea.
THE LOWER BASIN.
The majority of visitors to the park consider
the lower Geyser Basin more attractive than
its rival. 1t is broader and more easily SURVEYED
as whole. and its springs are more numerous,
though not so powerful. Nothing can be love-
lier than the sight Of the white steam Jets
tinged by the rays of the morning sun, ascending
against the background of dark pine woods
and the clear sky above. The variety in form
and character of these springs is quite remark
able. A few Of them make beautiful deposits
OF sulphur, though the greater number appear
| to be purely siliCiOus. One very large basin,
about forty by sixty feet in diameter is filled
with the most beautiful slime, varying in tint
from white to pink, with its great surface con-
stantly boiling up. The extinct geysers are
the most curious objects of all. Around their
borders the white ncrustations form quaint ara
besques resembling petrifed vegetable growths
and the sides of the reservoirs are fancifully in
dented, like the recesses OF some fairy cavern.
The water is bright blue. Over its surface
curls a light vapOr. Through its crystal clear
ness one may gaze apparently to unfathomless
depths, and seen through this wOndrOus medium
the white walls seem like frosted silver When
the sun strikes across the the last touch of
beauty is added. In one of these extinct gey-
sers the bleached skeleton of mountain buffalo
was discovered. By whatever accident he met
his fate there, no monarch was ever so magnifi-
CCHtiy CutOmUcu NO suFlUe, WlCn ltS
white marbles, can compare with this sepulcher
in the wilderness.
FAN OF HOT WATER.
The Beehive, Giantess and Comet are also
wonderful geysers. One of the group, the cele-
brated Fan geyser, deserves special men,
ton. 1t requires more inside machinery to ope-
rate this geyser than to work all the others
combined. In fact, it can only be compared to
a massive natural engine, IS by 100 feet, with
two small valves, two escape pipes, and at the
extreme upper end a large smoke-stack and
five separate and distinct craters. At a distance
Of couple of hundred yards sound may
be heard. as though cOrdwOOd were being
thrown into a mammoth furnace Then
follows great steam from the smoke
stack, then the two valves open, shooting
out swift, Kissing jets Of steam. The next mo-
ment there will be an unearthly roar from the
double craters both fill, and from each aperture
a column of water two feet in diameter shoots
upward over eighty feet one ascending nearly
vertically and the other at an angle Of about
fOrty-flve degrees thus forming the fan. The
eruption continues from three to four minutes,
then the flow ceases for eight or ten seconds,
and then the entire movement Is repeated.
These repetitiOns will continue for half an hour,
and then cease for couple Of days, doubtless
to give the goblin firemen, who attend to this
weird machinery, chance to rest themselves.
The waters Of this cluster flow toward the yell
l0wstOne, where, In a hollow, they have formed
miniature Dead sea Of steaming, sulphurous
heavy green water.