The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-11-07
4 THEORY OF GEYSERS.
A. Description of the Wonders of the Vel
Iowstone Park.

PERHAPS as rational a general theory
IS any in regard to the present condl-
ton of things in the valley of the Gard
ner river for the western part OF the
National Park is the valley of the Gard
ner, which cmpties into the Yellow
stone river near the northwestern cor
ner of the park, is this: The geologl-
cal formation of this region was a bed
OF magnetism limestone, either resting
upon or superimposed by a bed OF
silicate rock. The theory of details is
modified by position and conditions.
By volcanic action this bed OF lime
stone was changed to quicklime, which
now, through the chemical action OF
water, is producing the effect witnessed
in the form of geysers, boiling springs
and the like. For so miles or more
(the distance from the Mammoth Hot
Springs to the upper geyser BASIN, the
surface, to a greater or less depth, Is in
the main geyserite; that is, lime, mag
neSia and s~ilicate.
The heated water, thrown up from
great depths below the surface, holds
in solution a large proportion of these
materials, which upon coming in con
tact with atmospheric air, are deposited
in strata of greater or less thickness.
In some places hundreds of feet of lime
stone and magnesia, mixed with slick,
are already deposited. And still the
action goes on. Mostly the deposits
are in the form of ~carbonates, the rim
edges of springs and the bases of geyser
craters being of marble. The forms
of these deposits are beyond ex-
preston varied and beautiful. Every
form of s%calloping and corrugating may
be seen. At one place immense smooth
bosses, arranged laterally or heaped up
on each other In vast masses; at another,
whole fields of huge cauliiower forma-
tons, crowded thickly together; and
again, masses like heaps of wool ~ieeces.
These surface corrugations are likened to
honeycomb; to me they much more re-
semble the inner Innings of the stomach
of IN Ok. Sometimes they are like fish
scales or like the markings on the back
of al alligator. Sometimes of perfect
Wilderness, more frequently of grayish
white, but not unfrequently a most har-
monious blending of %colors, in which
arsenic, sulphur, iron and oxygen are
probably the nam ingredients. Imay be
quite wrong, but the green's and browns
seem to be of vegetable origin. The
surface deposit is sometimes granular,
though often fibrous, like the frog"
slime" seen In stagnant pools, so that
when hardened it takes on every imagin-
able structures form. Often masses
| present Q corafiine form SO exact that
even experts In these matters might be
quite excusable In installing them for
the work of Polyps. These forms
must be seen to be realized no words
alone a create an adequate idea In the
mind In the delicacy of structure and
beauty of coloring. / think i can see in
this mingling of colors and material the
manner OF formation of variegated mar
bic. In what are called the Paint Pots,
the material is not held in solution in
the water, but is mixed of about the
consistency of thick paste and Of the
shade of the particular coloring ingre-
dent prevailing in the mixture. Side
by side are pots of various oolors. When
this mixture, which is now like seeth-
ing, bubbling, and steaming paste, in
innumerable caldrons, hardens, it forms
~variously tinted rocks of any magma
BILE pattern.
In the pools and ponds Of unfathomed
depths, the watar of a temperature pro-
badly much above 200. degrees, the
sides are lined with pure white magne-
sian formations, initiating foliage of
delicate forms, leaves, flowers and
fruits arranged after the grandest arch
itectural patterns, which seen through
the deep waters, rejecting blues and
green's of every imaginable shade, pro-
duces a most fairy like scene. Indeed
no fairy grorto was ever imagined to
equal this reality. These structures
are so frail and the tracery SO delicate,
that rough handling and even exposure
to the air, causes them to crumble to
dust. Were the waters of these pools
to suddenly disappear, the arabesque
formations of the sides would disappear
almost as soon, and instead of charming
surface decorations remaining to gree.
the eye, the beholder would probably
see only a heap Of fine c%aicareous sub
stance In the bottom of a huge bowl.
In another short time other earthly
materials would mingle with these and
q thin vegetation would cover the whole.
At least hat is what / saw in many
cases. Such bowl-like depressions are
Of no infrequent occurrence always one
side OF the rim lower than the others
as marking the side from which the
boiling water overfiowed and Ell caped,
Geysers build up their own cones, and
not till they are of sufficient length tc