Fantastic Beauty of Jupiter Terrace, the Greatest of Them All, Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyo.

Publication

Fantastic Beauty of Jupiter Terrace, the Greatest of Them All, Yellowstone Nat. Park, Wyo.

Description

FANTASTIC BEAUTY OF JUPITER TERRACE. Turning southward from Minerva Terrace and passing that of the Mound, we find ourselves before Jupiter Terrace, the greatest not only in the Mammoth group but in the entire world. Before the southern face of this superb formation, it is perfectly safe to walk, though in inspecting some of the other terraces one must be careful to avoid scalding his feet in the hot water. Jupiter lends himself graciously to being studied and here can be appreciated to the full the endless variety of coloring and shading, of general form, and of minute, even microscopic structure characterizing not only this but the other Mammoth Hot Springs terraces. Their variety is bewildering. Here are gradual slopes, sweeping for hundreds of feet gently down the side of the mountain; there are knobbed and fantastic surfaces showing an infinity of detail in structure and surprising combinations of color. Crowning these are remarkable forms that suggest stairways, balconies, gigantic urns and treasure caskets of Oriental craftsmanship, supported by grotesque brackets or symmetrical pillars. Stalactites and stalagmites grow from pearled ceilings and jewel-studded floors, while spindles and fluted columns as dedicately wrought as if by fairy fingers guard the entrances to miniature caverns that seem the abodes of enchantment. And to all the witchery of form a bewildering fantasy of color lends the last touch of beauty that the lavish hand of Nature can give. (Elev. 6,500 ft. Lat. 45° N.; Long. 111° W.)