Between the Giantess and the river is the _Bee Hive_, also one of the most prominent geysers. The symmetry of its cone is only surpassed by the regularity of its water column. From an artistic point of view it is the most perfect geyser in the Park. Its slender jet attains a great height and is vertical and symmetrical throughout. Crossing again to the west bank of the stream and ascending to the very head of the basin, we come to the last and most important of the geysers, _Old Faithful_. Any other geyser, any five other geysers, could be erased from the list better than part with Old Faithful. The Giant, Giantess, Grand, Splendid, and Excelsior, have more powerful eruptions. The Bee Hive is more artistic. The Great Fountain has a more wonderful formation. But Old Faithful partakes in a high degree of all these characteristics, and, in addition, has the invaluable quality of uniform periodicity of action. It is in fact the most perfect of all known geysers. To it fell the honor of welcoming civilized man to this region. It was the first geyser named. It stands at the head of the basin and has been happily called "The Guardian of the Valley." It is located in the center of an oblong mound, 145 by 215 feet at the base, 20 by 54 feet at the summit, and about 12 feet high. The tube, which seems to have originated in a fissure in the rock, has an inside measurement of 2 by 6 feet. [Illustration: _Terry Engr. Co._ _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._ Castle Geyser. Geyser in action. Crater of Old Faithful. Upper Geyser Basin.] [Illustration: _Terry Engr. Co._ _U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories._ Old Faithful.] The ornamentation about the crater, though limited in extent, is nowhere surpassed for beauty of form and color. In particular, the three small pools on the north side of the crater and very close to it are specimens of the most remarkable handiwork which Nature has lavished upon this region. A singular fact is that the waters in these three pools, although so close together as apparently to be subject to the same conditions, are of different colors. Speaking of these marvelous appearances, Lieutenant Doane says: [BG] "One instinctively touches the hot ledges with his hands, and sounds with a stick the depths of the cavities in the slope, in utter doubt of the evidence of his own eyes.... It is the most lovely inanimate object in existence." [BG] Page 29, "Yellowstone Expedition of 1870." See Appendix E.