Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-05-09
YELLOWSTONE PARK.

~NG PtN
Section where the Most vonders.l
Freaks of Nature Arc Massed-
In any other country than our own
the opportunities of finding such q
section of land. where all the most
wonderful attractions of nature are
massed. would have been impossible.
The first real Information of Won
derland, with its geysers, its volcanic
formations, its rushing waters. its
canyons, came in 1868. Before that,
save the vague stories of the trappers,
there was nothing known of the Yell
lowstone region. These adventurous
hunters had told the truth, but they
were not believed.
Captain De Lacy's report. written by
competent officer. at once attracted
attention. In 1871 DIR. Hayden went
to the Yellowstone region, studied it
in detail. and presented careful sum-
mary of his explorations to Congress.
Above all, DIR. Hayden urged that the
whole section should be set apart by
Congress 'for the benefit and enjoy
ment OF the people," and this wise
measure was carried out in 1872.
The Yellowstone National Park lies
in the northwestern corner of Wyo-
ming. with small portions of it extend
ing into Idaho and Montana Its
length is 55 miles. width Is. It con-
tains 1915 square miles. or 1928, 600
acres. The lowest level, at Gardeners
river. is $3.50 feet, the highest. Elec-
trio Peak, in the Gallatin range. being
IL, 155 feet above the sea- The aver
age elevation of the plateau is from
1900 to $500 feet. The summer days
are hot, the nights always cool. In the
winter the climate is arctic. Here the
past changes of this planet, its present
disturbances, are visible. The forces
within this globe of ours never are at
rest. If through the tunnels of vol
canoes Nature finds her safety-valves,
in the Yellowstone Park the geysers
are her lesser escape pipes.
Around what is called the Upper
Basin is the Beehive, with it's cluster
of geysers. One, known as the Grand,
throws a jet of water % feet in dame
ter to a height of 25O feet, and this
superb water-spout has a duration of
not less than twenty minutes. There
is another famous geyser called Old
Faithful Geysers are more or less
capricious as to their eruptions, and
are disappointing to those who expect
that Nature carries a stop-watch in her
pocket. Old Faithful is, however, the
most methodical of geysers. Out of
the cavern beneath him he draws up
the water and shoots it into the air at
regular intervals of every ffty-seven
minutes.
Paint Pots are small basins about
three feet wide, where the escaping
steam finds an exit. and they hold in
agitation compounds of siliceous clays,
which are pink, brown, blue, and gray
The Pulpit Terraces are series of
singularly beautiful stalacite basins,
containing water charged with car
bonic acid, which holds in solution
carbonate of lime. AS the surplus
water trickles over them lime is de-
posted by evaporation as solid crust.
Liberty Cap owes its peculiar shape to
the well-knOwn action of one of nat
ure's solvents.
There are many extinct geysers, but
when they ceased to spout no one can
tell. There is nothing normal about
the Yellowstone Park, because it is a
center of volcanic activity. tits Won
derland. and in Wonderland, as far as
the staid matter-of-fact contours of the
earth 60, there can be nothing which
is rigid.
Mount Evarts owes its name to a
Mr.. Evarts who was one of the ex-
ploration party that visited the geyser
basins in 1869. Mr.. Evarts, when near
the head of the lake, was lost, and only
joined his party after suffering great
hardships. Not far from Mount Evarts
are the Mammoth Hot Springs. which
cover an area of three square miles.
Here are terraces glittering in all
colors. Certain portions of the yell
lowstone country are known as had
lands" Wherever volcanic action of
a recent dale has destroyed the fer
tility of the soil. this name is given.
With its superb lakes, rushing rivers.
waterfalls, its canyons and geysers,
this Yellowstone National Park is one
of the wonders of the world.-Har-
per's Bazaar.