Liberty Cap and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Yellowstone Park, U.S.A.

Publication

Liberty Cap and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Yellowstone Park, U.S.A.

Description

Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel which we see in this stereograph is the largest hotel in the Park, being able to accommodate 350 guests. It is situatied upon high ground and from its verandas can be obtained a fine view of the Hot Springs and Terraces. A short distance to the southward from the hotel we find Terrace Mountain, at the base of which stands Liberty Cap. This is a very large extinct geyser cone. It is fifty-two feet high and about thirty feet in diameter at its base and has stood for ages past an enduring monument to an extinct geyser. Liberty Cap and Devil's Thumb are the only two geyser cones in this part of the Park. These cones were either built up by the depositions of the active geysers, or the surrounding material being softer has been worn away by the elements and left these large cones standing. The former is probably the correct explanation, though it is disputed by some scientists. It is called Liberty Cap because of its shape, being like the close-fitting cap with which the head of the goddess fo liberty is often decked; and like the cap which the ancient Romans used to give to their slaves at manumission, Gardiner and the Lava Entrance Arch (No. 1) lie straight over the hill behind Liberty Cap. Originally the geyserite formation extended about 80 rods to the right of Libery Cap, and Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel is built upon two large extinct Hot Spring Basins, while three extinct basins can now be seen in the lawn near the hotel, one being forty feet across and twenty feet deep. Now, however, the formation appears to end a short distance to the right of Liberty Cap where we see teams passing in this view.