Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/803

 GEYSERS 787 rity ; it spouts at intervals of about an hour, throwing a column of water 6 ft. in diameter to a maximum height of 130 ft., and holding it up by a succession of impulses from 4 to 6 minutes. The great mass of the water falls directly back into the basin, flowing over the edges and down the sides in streams. When the action ceases, the water recedes out of sight, and nothing but the occasional hiss of steam is heard until the time approaches for another eruption. Its crater is a conical mound of geyserite about 12 ft. high, measuring at the base 145 by 215 ft. and at the top 54 by The Giantess. den witnessed three eruptions, which lasted from 4| to 15 minutes; he measured the height of but one, which was over 100 ft. He de- scribes the column as fan-shaped, and says that no water falls from it, but it is resolved into spray which appears to evaporate as soon as formed. At 200 yards from the Beehive is the Giantess, a large geyser with an oval aper- ture described by Langford to be 18 by 25 ft. in diameter. The inside of the tube is corru- gated and covered with a whitish silicious de- posit. When not in action, no water can be seen in its basin, although its sides are visible to the depth of 100 ft., but a gurgling sound can be heard at a great distance below. When an eruption is about to take place, the water rises in the tube with much spluttering and hissing, sending off vast clouds of steam. It will stand sometimes for several minutes within 40 or 50 ft. of the surface, foaming and gur- gling, and spurting jets of hot water nearly to its mouth. When it finally bursts forth, it throws up a column of water the full size of its aperture to the height of 60 ft., and through this rise five or six smaller jets, varying from 6 to 15 in. in diameter, to the height of 250 ft. The eruption, which takes place at irregu- lar intervals, continues for about 20 minutes. Dr. Hayden, who examined it in August, 1872, says the basin measures 23 by 32-J- ft. in diameter, and that the water in it, which is level with the rim, is 63 ft. deep. The only eruption witnessed by him lasted 17 min- utes, and the maximum height of the water was 39 ft., the steam rising to 69 ft. ^ After the eruption the water sank 20 ft. in the basin. It probably differs in appearance in different seasons. Further down the river on the same side is the Sawmill geyser, which throws a small stream 10 or 15 ft. high al- most uninterruptedly. Near it is the Grand geyser, one of the raost powerful in the basin. Within a single basin 52 ft. in diameter are two orifices. One, which is oblong, 2 by 4 ft., has no rim, and is surrounded for the space of 10 ft, by rounded masses of silica, from a few inches to 3 ft. in diameter, looking like spongi- form coral. When not in eruption the water in this spring is quiet and is as clear as crystal. This is the Grand geyser. The second, called the Turban geyser, is 20 ft. from the first It has a basin of irregular form, 23 by 1 diameter and 6 ft. deep. The mouth of its tube, which is at one side of the basin, is 4 by 2 nL ^aWKKEK nwsr SsaSsssW hive and the Giantess. The former is^asih- ^^^f ^^% minn^ and IT thr^/with^ -oTaf orifice 3 by 2 ft. in I 25 ^f^^^T^^lj diameter. When in action, which occurs once eruptions of the Grand gey ^ ^ in about 24 hours, it throws a column of water Prof. Hayden s party in 1871 tioM ssra%w?sssSK ESS s 5i*A 1 5=aw - tt " ! " a "' '"""" I gSBsSSsiS&a