Golden Gate and Viaduct-East down the gorge to Bunsen Peak, Yellowstone Park, U.S.A.

Publication

Golden Gate and Viaduct-East down the gorge to Bunsen Peak, Yellowstone Park, U.S.A.

Description

In our tour of the Park we shall now leave the steaming springs and dazzling terraces of the Hot Spring formation. Surely there is nothing in the Park that can surpass the inimitable beauty of these terraces; we are loathe to leave them for scenes less charming--as we think. We take the road to the south for Norris Basin, and for the first few miles find it a very steep ascent; in fact we ascend 1,000 feet in the first four miles. About three miles from the Hot Springs we enter upon a road which is noted in more respects than one. It is one of the most expensive ever constructed by the United States Government, costing some $14,000 for a single mile. The portion of the road shown here is of solid concrete--the only one of its kind in the world. The pillar at the bend of the road was a part of the canyon wall before it was cut down in constructing the road. The narrow portion of this canyon is known as the Golden Gate on account of the yellow color of the walls which here extend to a height of 300 feet. We are happily disappointed in our expectation not to see anything that would equal the terraces in beauty. The magnificent scene furnishes one of those highly agreeable changes which we continually experience in the park. With its grand golden walls on either side, arched by the invariably clear blue sky above, and below the splashing water of Glen Creek's Rustic Falls, as, full of dancing rainbows, they tumble some sixty feet upon the mass of rocks below, the scene at the Golden Gate baffles all description. On the right is shown Bunsen Peak, over 9,000 feet high, one of the tourist's favorites as it is so easy to climb; on the left is Terrace Mountain. As we take our leave we can feel assured that we have seen one of the world's most magnificent mountain passes.