Castle Geyser, One of the Oldest in Yellowstone Park, in Eruption, Wyo.

Publication

Castle Geyser, One of the Oldest in Yellowstone Park, in Eruption, Wyo.

Description

CASTLE GEYSER, ONE OF THE OLDEST IN YELLOWSTONE. Castle Geyser was so named by the Washburn Expedition in 1870 because its truncated cone and broken-down turrets resembled "an old feudal castle, partially in ruins." This cone is perhaps the oldest and certainly the largest in the Park, being about 30 ft. in height and 100 ft. in diameter at the base. The sinter composing the formation around it takes the shape of knobs resemblng those in a ripe cauliflower, the large size of some of them indicating that formerly the flow of water must have been much greater than at present. In eruption the Castle ordinarily throws a column of water 3 ft. in diameter to a height of 60 ft. and the vent near it, during the eruption, flows with boiling water. Vents or "indicators" similar to the one last mentioned are common to many geysers, foretelling by some unusual activity, minutes or even hours in advance, the approach of eruptions in the spouters to which they are connected by subterranean passages. On the other hand there are often in the immediate vicinity of a geyser, springs which show no relationship to the former in activity or in water temperature, remaining perfectly normal during eruptions of the geyser. Ordinarily the Castle has eruptions about once a day for 3 or 4 days and then remains quiet for from 4 to 7 days. Two or three times during the season it is apt to have an unusually violent eruption, throwing its column of water 200 ft. aloft and continuing in action much longer than its customary 30 minutes. We are fortunate in seeing it in one of its great eruptions, 200 ft. high. (View looking S. Elev. 7,300 ft. Lat. 44° N.; Long. 111° W.)