Wonders of the YellowstoneRichardson, James (Geologist)
History
Wonders of the Yellowstone
Richardson, James (Geologist)
Yellowstone National Park
In this lower basin there are very few raised craters, the most of the
springs and geysers having funnel-shaped basins, with rims of various
forms, but mostly circular. In this group there is besides the White
Dome a small cone with its top broken off. It is four feet in diameter,
with an aperture eighteen inches across. It is called the Bee-hive,
For several feet around on all sides the surface of the ground is
ornamented with pearly tubercles of silica, from the size of a pea to
three inches in diameter. The spring basins in this group have every
variety of form. One, a fine boiling spring, has an oval rim five
feet by eight, its sides running straight down beyond the reach of
vision. Another is funnel-shaped, tapering to a narrow aperture, with a
scalloped rim, projecting several inches over the water. Some springs
discharge no water; others send forth a stream two feet wide and six
inches deep. In one of the streams, the channel of which is about two
feet wide and one foot deep, the water is filled with a plant with a
pinkish-yellow base, bordered with a very fine green silky fringe,
perpetually vibrating with the flowing waters. "Except that they were
a rich vegetable green, these fringes had the form and texture of the
finest cashmere wool. The luxuriant growth of vegetation in and along
the borders of these little streams," adds Dr. Hayden, "was a wonder of
beauty. The whole view was there superior to anything of the kind I had
seen."
In some of the springs Dr. Hayden's assistants found butterflies which
had fallen in and been scalded to death. On taking them out they were
found to be partially petrified, and coated with silica.
At the mouth of the ravine is the principal geyser of the group.
Its basin is circular and about 60 feet in diameter, although the
spring itself, which is in the centre, is only about 15 or 20 feet in
diameter. The incrusted margin is full of sinuses, filled with hot
water, which falls into them whenever the geyser is in operation. These
pockets contain also smooth pebbles of geyserite, varying in size from
that of a pea to a large-sized walnut, rounded by the action of the
water. The water in the spring of the geyser is of a blue color and in
constant agitation, though more violently so just before spouting.
The column of water projected reaches the height of 100 feet, and is
accompanied by immense clouds of steam.
Not far from this geyser is an elegantly scalloped spring, nearly
circular, twenty-five feet in diameter, and with vertical sides to an
unknown depth. The entire mass of the water is most violently agitated
at times, and, overflowing the sides of the basin, passes off in
terrace pools or reservoirs to the main stream, producing a system of
architecture out of silica similar to that of the calcareous springs on
Gardiner's River. The gay colors, from bright pink to delicate rose,
are well shown.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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