Was in the process of doing a final backup of a computer that I bought in 2006 and is having problems restarting. I keep it around mostly to run a few programs that won't run on newer machines because those programs only work on a PowerPC processor.
Was looking through a directory of photos and came across a few that I'd forgotten about. I believe these came to me via Rocco Paperiello back in late 2008, and are part of a package of documents he found concerning the building of the first boardwalks in the Upper Geyser Basin. So they date back to the early 1950s or so.
This one of Grand and vicinity is interesting for a number of reason. In the background is the new boardwalk, pretty much at its current position. You can see a pile of lumber and a couple of people working on it.
In the lower left are a couple of craters which I believe are North Triplet on the right, and East Triplet on the left. These would correspond the Grand Sputs of today, with Sput D/Delta on the right and Sputnik/Sput B on the left. It looks like Percolator can be seen as a dark spot if one draws a line between the leftmost crater and the pile of lumber. Note that the feature we called East Triplet in the early 1980s would have been located above and to the left of the vent here.
But also note the number of posts in the ground around the area, and the directions they face. Not just the ones by North Triplet and Grand, but behind the latter sign, beyond Turban, is another post. There's also a fourth, short post between the right most North Triplet vent and Percolator. Also of interest is that the Grand sign is positioned to be read by a person on the hillside, while the North Triplet side faces away.
A second photo is a slide that was probably made a few years later. Notice style of the West Triplet sign hasn't changed much. But also, there was a little boardwalk spur leading out toward Grand with another sign log at its end.
Tara Cross recently sent me some photos that she took during her visit to Hveravellir in Iceland on 2011 August 26. There were a number of changes between her visit and our visit last year. She also wasn't aware of the map of the area and not sure about the exact locations of some features in relation to what we saw. But we were able to figure things out.
Most notable was the difference in walkways. Some have been removed while others added. This made identification of changed features a little tricky at first.
Fagrihver, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
Fagrihver, Hveravellir, 2023 September 06. Photo by H.Koenig
This is a view of Fagrihver. The walkway in the back went over to Meyjarauga, one of the more colorful springs in the area. The walkway is no longer there because Meyjarauga has filled in and disappeared. In the decade since this photo was taken, Fagrihver has roofed over much of the left portion of the vent, as the recent screenshot shows. So it too may disappear in the near future.
Rauðihver, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
Rauðihver, Hveravellir, 2023 September 07. Photo by H.Koenig
Rauðihver (Red Spring) was also erupting during her visit. It's not as full as what we saw last year, but the activity is from the same vent area. I've seen online videos taken a few years ago where this feature was a hot, blue pool. It must cycle between ugly and active, and pretty but quiet.
Eyvindarhver, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
This is Eyvindarhver, a spring that was altered centuries ago so it could be used for cooking. (It's the closest spring to Eyvindar's shelter to the west.) Years ago it was known to behave as a geyser. The photo shows some splashing from what appeared to her to be a steamy perpetual spouter. For our visit, it was acting like a fumarole. There are videos from a few years ago of the fumarolic action being more powerful and noisier.
Bóluhver/Heimilishver, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
This is an overview of Bóluhver/Heimilishver, looking toward the east. There is now a walkway running along the boundary betweenthe runoff and the sinter area allowing a closer view of this feature and Gjósandi, which would be to the left.
H-204q, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
This is H-204q, a small feature near Bóluhver/Heimilishver. It's not really visible from the current walkways.
H-204m, Hveravellir, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
H-204m , Hveravellir, in eruption, 2011 August 26. Photo by T.Cross
This is H-204m. It's located near H-204q, and is a small geyser that Cross saw erupt while there:
I finally saw it at 1445 erupting to 1 to 2 feet with a duration [of] about 2 minutes. It erupted again at 1524, refilled at 1533, and had periodic bubbling episodes until it erupted again at 1601, d~2m50s. Only two data points, I know, but it’s quite possible that it is a regular geyser erupting at intervals of roughly 35 to 40 minutes.
[Sput, Dec 2011, v25n6, pg.19]
We didn't see it as it was partly hidden downslope behind Bóluhver/Heimilishver, and since we saw Gjósandi erupting nearby, didn't realize the complex actually had two geyser features in it. The Hveravellir base map has a small annotation next to the feature mark-- "gýs", a notation I don't see anywhere else on the map. I got a translation as that meaning "erupt". With all the little sputtering features located on the map, this was only one worthy of that special note.
Niermann in his Volcanic Springs website says that H-204m and H-204q were "small intermittent springs" and includes photos of both.
Recently Cynthia Barwin noticed a listing on eBay.com. Since she wasn't interested in bidding, I went and acquired this stereo photo. The image is taken from the listing, as I currently have no good way to scan it. A notation on the Kodachrome slide mount implies that it was taken at 10:50.
Today was going to be the start of nine days of visiting the thermal areas in and around Rotorua. That didn't happen, but here are a few old postcard views showing things that, for the most part, we wouldn't have seen anyhow.
Te Mimi-a-Homai-o-te-Rangi* Geyser, Orakeikorako
This feature, on the west bank of the Waikato River, now lives beneath the waters of Lake Ohakuri to the north of the ferry crossing over to the terraces. In the 1940s it erupted as frequently as every three hours to heights up to 24 meters (75ft).
Thermal activity near Rotomahana
This card has a postmark from 1905, so it is quite possible that it is showing activity from Waimangu.
Waimangu Geyser, Waimangu Valley.
A view copyrighted 1902.
Inferno Crater, Waimangu Valley
This feature is located about 50 meters to the northeast of where Waimangu was located. It currently has an approximate 38 day cycle of rising to overflow for a few days, then falling. It is also now surrounded by much thicker vegetation.
Wairoa Geyser, Whakarewarewa
This geyser has not been active in decades, but has at least shown signs of recovery since the shutdown of hot water wells in the area.
Wairoa Geyser and other features at Whakarewarewa
One of the features to the right is most likely Pohutu. There are several other features nearby, including Te Horu and Mahanga.
Geysers at Whakarewarewa.
From left to right, it looks like these are Kereru, Mahanga, Pohutu and Wairoa. The view is from the opposite direction of the preceding views, and now what one would first see upon entering through the gate. As with Inferno Crater, there is now a lot more vegetation in the area on the left.
The orifice of the Great Wairakei Geyser, NZ
All of the dozens of geysers in the Geyser Valley at Wairakei were destroyed when the power plants started back in the 1950s and 1960s.
* The name translates to "The urine from [Chief] Homai-te-rangi" [Lloyd, Geology and Hot Springs of Orakeikorako, NZ Bulletin #85, pg.59]. We need more names like this in Yellowstone.
Its initial grand bursts, sometimes exceed 200 feet in height, and it erupts for about an hour and a half.
A much nicer photo taken in 1954, based on the ID number. Does not appear to be any activity from the platform vents.
Giant Geyser (Hamilton Stores, YNP) J-1
A spectacular giant located in the Upper Geyser Basin which erupts to height of 200 feet for durations ranging from 45 to 60 minutes. Shown here at the peak of one of her performances.
This is also a giant postcard, triple the area of a normal card. I remember buying it in the early 1980s at the Lower Hamilton's store.
Steamboat Geyser at Norris in YNP (D&G Enterprises, Emblem Wyo.) C-335 Photo by Robert Whitney
Ranks currently as Yellowstone's most powerful geyser. In function, it is a typical cone-type geyser with continuous action. The water phase lasts from 25 to 40 minutes and reaches a height of nearly 400 feet. Rocks are ejected during eruptions from inside the crater.
Surprising to find this. A nice view that is not the standard NPS view. The address of the publisher includes a ZIP code, so this must date from the late 1960s.
Fountain Geyser (Haynes Studios) 51K090
Fountain Geyser in the lower geyser Basin erupts 50 to 75 feet in heightm draining the pool in the foreground with each eruption.
Looks more like Morning Geyser to me. Again, based on the serial number this was taken in 1951.
I was digging around in my files, looking for something else, and I came across this copy of a letter I sent to a friend two days after Giant Geyser erupted in 1986. Since I wrote it while the memories were fresh, I figure it might be interesting. The photos posted here were taken by George Strasser (Paul's brother), who not only had a camera, but remembered to use it.
On 20 August at 1136, Giant erupted. I was at Daisy for the start, and had just passed Giant five minutes earlier. At that time, it looked like it has all summer, fairly dead. So I get to Daisy, see that Splendid's markers are in place (it had four eruptions the next day), and start to unload my pack. Then I looked over at Daisy, and saw this huge steam cloud rise above the trees.
View from Old Faithful Lodge
Paul Strasser, John Railey and I have been using CB radios to keep in touch. They have been useful, but this time they paid for themselves. I grabbed the radio as I was running down the boardwalk and yelled into it, "Paul, something's erupting in the Giant Group!" He had just turned his on, and heard the "erupting in the Giant Group" part from the Lodge Cabins. He and Suzanne were down there in twelve minutes. Several other people saw the steamcloud from the VC, Lower Ham's store, or from Fantail (Biscuit Basin) and assumed either Grand or Oblong. They didn't see it.
[Paul and Suzanne were about to head out with the family of his brother George, "to look for animals", when the call came. The family was abandoned, allowing George to walk out on his own. Fortunately, he took the only series of photos of this eruption that I know about.]
Talked with some people there at the start, and they said that the sputs started maybe 30 seconds before Giant, and Mastiff was erupting only three to four feet high, but overflowing. When it started, Giant sent out a wall of water, running over the south end of the "T" boardwalk. They were afraid of scalded feet.
As I ran around the trees, I could see the water column still climbing. Mastiff was steaming and splashing heavily, while Catfish was sending a thin angled spray to 25 feet. Bijou was steaming only, and the others quickly followed. I took a short cut, and was quite pleased with events.
Giant was now near maximum height, which I estimated [measured?] to be between 150 and 180 feet (~165'). Two night before Sam Martinez and I were going to lay out a baseline, but decided not to since we would never get a chance to use it. [I think I told Sam: "It'll get stolen before we can use it."] The water column was thick, a lot like Ol' Filthy in that sense only. It also pulses, like Beehive, so it doesn't stay at max height, but drops to about 80', then surges back up. The water seemed clear, and the weather was excellent. Clear sky, dead calm but a bit humid. Paul said the steam cloud had to be several thousand feet high. Earlier that day was a thick fog, and later it rained.
By the time Paul and Suzanne arrived, surges were still in the 120' range, but the power had definitely diminished, Originally the water column appeared vertical, now it began to angle to the west slightly. It also sent spray toward the boardwalk. But on the whole, it looked exactly like the old photos.
A half hour later, Giant was still hitting 50', but there was little runoff. By now several sputs were erupting on the platform. They looked like little Uncertains, but only ~4' high. They also surged at the same time as Giant.
By 1227, Giant was mostly steam, and all steam by 1236. Grotto was not erupting all this time.
Note wet boardwalk.
This was a strange eruption for coincidences. Not just Sam and I at the baseline. The day before at Splendid (no eruptions) T.Scott commented that he didn't have his camera, and if Giant erupted, he would kill himself.
South Purple pool had had several heavy surges of water earlier this year, and now was down below overflow. Later Grotto had some sort of steam phase, or minor eruption. The sputs between it and Rocket were erupting, but Rocket and Grotto made lots of noise and occasionally splashed. The next "real" Grotto [eruption] did not have an eruption of Grotto Fountain [preceding it].
Oblong has been weird this year, with intervals from 32 minutes(!) to 24 hours. Most intervals seem to tend toward 20 hours. Now it had three eruptions in a three hour period, with one interval of 37 minutes. These closing eruptions of a short interval are strange. The water is ejected from an empty pool, and some jets [from the north side] reach the river. They area also very noisy.
It took Bijou about 24 hours to recover, but the next day, the group looked as good, if not better, than it had all year. Now I'm hoping for an interval of less than a year. Say this coming March.
That night, we measured out the distance markers for Giant. Holding one end of the tape over Giant's vent, knowing that it couldn't erupt, was a scary experience.
In the previous thirty years, there had been only four known eruptions of Giant— in 1963, 1978, 1982 and 1984. It's been twenty four years since the last known eruption of Splendid...
Splendid was active then, and the best way to catch a series was to immediately notice when one started. Daisy was erupting nice and regular, about every 75 to 80 minutes (excluding wind effects). The initial eruption of Splendid would take place shortly before Daisy was expected, so if you didn't see an eruption at the predicted time, it was time to make a quick bike ride out to see what was going on. So every hour or so, I'd ride my bike over from The Box to the fence that ran along the walkway west of the Lodge. If I didn't see Daisy after about ten minutes or so, I'd head on down basin.
On 06 Aug 1987, around 10:30, I did my usual ride up, and saw a plume of water over on Geyser Hill. It wasn't Lion, and at first I thought I was seeing a North Goggles major. Then I realized that the water column was to the left of Lion, on the wrong side. I had no idea if it was Big Cub, or Lioness, so I got on my bike and went on around the circle to get a better look at Geyser Hill.
As I approached the Visitor Center, I saw Jim Lenertz and Rick Hutchinson looking over there with binoculars. They too had noticed the activity, and wanted to get a better view and to figure out which geyser it was.
It was Big Cub, and fortunately, Phil Landis, who was working as Rick's assistant, was on Geyser Hill near Teakettle, and was able to take this photo. (I don't know how to contact Phil for explicit permission. But it is, as far as I know, one of the few, if not the only, photo of Big Cub in eruption.) We watched the activity for at least 3-1/2 minutes, and I would estimate the height was from 10 to 12 meters. Note also that Little Cub was also in eruption.
Afterwards, Rick went over to checkout the platform there, to see if there were any other changes (or signs of manipulation). I tagged along. Everything looked normal, and if we hadn't actually seen the eruption, we wouldn't have seen any evidence of an eruption. (Other than it was a bit wetter down wind of Big Cub, but that dried quickly). The one interesting thing is that the vent has a little side hole in it. A small jet of water coming from it can be seen in the photo on the left.
And I did see Daisy a few minutes later, so no Splendid activity that day. Or for the next few weeks. But I did see Giant about a month later.
Update: I've been told that Phil took the photo as part of his official duties working for Rick, so it's in the public domain. And that Phil died of cancer a few years back.
Back in the mid 1990s I learned that one of the microbiologists had gotten the name she'd given to her favorite slime source near Sulphur Cauldron at Mud Volcano made official by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. This kinda annoyed me, because it seemed self-important, while people who had been observing geyser activity for years had never tried to inflict their names in this fashion. But it also gave me an idea.
I tend to not want to give new features names. I prefer, if needed, to reference new, small holes in relation to nearby, more established features. Hence all those sputs near Grand with designations like Sput A and Sput D and such.
The only names I can remember being responsible for were joint efforts with other gazers like Tomáš Vachuda-- Mortar's "Bottom Vent" and the nearby "Norris Pool." Not much chance of getting names like those approved, and for good reason. (And of course, "The Great Flounder.")
But there were, and still are, a lot of names which have been in use for decades which weren't official. Most of the Sawmill and Grand Groups, for example. Thhe only official names were Grand Geyser, Turban Geyser, Sawmill Geyser, Spasmodic Geyser and Tardy Geyser and Bulger Spring.
So I decided that all those names should get the official treatment. I threw in Link Geyser just because a big geyser like that needed to have its name be nailed down, too.
I proposed fifteen names in total. Twelve were successful, one got changed slightly and two didn't make it.
Belgian Pool
Bulger Geyser (rename from Bulger Spring)
Churn Geyser
Crystal Geyser
East Triplet Geyser
Link Geyser
Old Tardy Geyser
Oval Spring
Penta Geyser
Percolator
Rift Geyser
Slurp Geyser
Uncertain Geyser
Vent Geyser
West Triplet Geyser
I proposed "Percolator", without the "Geyser" suffix because having every name ending in "Geyser" or "Spring" or "Pool" gets tiresome and repetitive. Here was an opportunity to do something different. Unfortunately, one of the reviewers noticed this and commented on it. Rather than fighting for the proposed name, I amended the submission to include "Geyser".
The two names that didn't make it were "Slurp Geyser" and "Crystal Geyser". Another reviewer objected to Slurp because the name "Crystal Springs Satellite Geyser"* was an alternate name, and this person didn't see a need for a change. And of course, that name is dependent on not changing Crystal Spring to Crystal Geyser, so that name needed to stay the same, too. Again, instead of fighting for those changes with someone who showed signs of insisting on those names, I just withdrew the proposals.
I've since learned that proposing geyser names like this will not be accepted. Not sure why, don't really care. Since, other than Slurp, I got all my names through. Although, I do regret not getting Plume Geyser and Morning Geyser made official, or getting Dragon Geyser changed to Aurum Geyser. Maybe I was thinking of saving them for a round two.
* Note: It is USBGN policy to not include apostrophes in names, which makes this name even more ungainly.)
I was digging around recently looking for some old geyser data when I came across something that might be of general interest.
Back in 1993 I was working with Rick Hutchinson on recording geyser activity. He let me use some of the TempMentor devices, and I wrote a Mac application so I could access and download and display the data. The TempMentor that I used was inside a self-contained cylinder, about a foot high and about four inches across that provided a waterproof place for the recorder. The sensor itself was in the bottom of the cylinder, so I had to place it directly in the runoff channel of the feature I wanted to record. Fortunately, even back then there was enough space under the boardwalks that I could easily place it, even during the daytime. (When the boardwalks were rebuilt, they were raised, mostly to prevent them from continuing to provide marmot and tree-rat habitat.)
I placed the devices at Grand, West Triplet, and Plume. I also have Castle data, but I think that was from a device Rick placed, as even back then we were not encouraged to go that far off trail.
I still have the data I collected, but it's in a format that I would have to reconstruct. Fortunately, part of the program that I wrote did some processing to look for eruptions. That's what I came across, and it's interesting to look at now, 28 years later. I've attached the text files to this posting, as they are a bit too big to just add as is.
Plume runs from 09 Jul 1993 through 12 Aug 1993, without any gaps in coverage. During that time not only was Plume "going to sleep" but there were also a couple of Giantess eruptions. So the data shows not only the overnight pauses in activity, but the shortened intervals in response to Giantess' eruption. Most of the non-Giantess eruption intervals were around an hour, but in the 36 or so hours afterward, that interval dropped in half.
Most of the time Plume went to sleep around midnight, and woke up around noon, so many of the sleeps were in the twelve hour range, But there are also some that lasted the better part of a day (19 hours in one case). The recovery from Giantess mode was pretty abrupt, too. In one case it there were just four transition intervals before it was back into the hour range. In the other case, there were just three, and then it went to sleep two more intervals later.
West Triplet was also interesting. I moved the Plume recorder there so there's a record from 13 Aug 1993 through 15 Sep 1993. I noted the Rift times in the file, but not sure how/where I got them. Sam Martinez was also doing some recording, and he may have been the source. In any case, the recordings clearly show that the West Triplet eruptions that preceded Rift lasted longer and Rift started about 1/2 hour in (at the time West Triplet would have normally quit.)
Grand activity is in several segments. The first runs from 09 Apr 1993 through 10 Jun 1993, while the second is from 04 Jul 1993 through 15 Sep 1993. The shortest intervals were just under seven hours, while there were no intervals over 12 hours. For back then, that was nice, consistent behavior for it.
Finally, Castle runs from 21 Aug 1993 through 11 Sep 1993. During that time most intervals were eleven hours, give or take. There were one to three minor eruptions a week, and several major eruption intervals between them. The intervals after the minor eruption varied from three to seven hours, and the major eruption interval after that was about an hour longer than usual.
With the interest last year in measuring geyser eruption heights, I thought it might be useful to repost this. I managed to extract the text out of a file with an obsolete format. The year on the file is 1986 and I think it was something that ran in one of the earliest issues of The Sput that T.Scott Bryan put out.
Despite the number of years since, and the number of changes to the boardwalks, more than a few of these markers can still be found if one knows where to look. The washer is usually gone, but the nail or screw remains. There are also a few markers I noticed that aren't on this list, and don't seem to be associated with any obvious, nearby geyser. I think a project for next summer will be to see how many I can still find and recover.
We usually measured baselines at night. We'd let Rick Hutchinson and the Protectives (as they were known then) know we were out and about, and then spend a few hours surveying. Sam Martinez did most of the work at the vent for most features, as he'd done it before and knew the better approaches for geysers like Castle. On 1986 August 19, a bunch of us went out to Shoshone Basin for the day. That evening, we did the markers in and around Daisy and Splendid. As we finished, Sam wanted to go out and place markers in the Giant Group, too. I was tired by then, and suggested there wasn't much point, as they'd probably all be stolen before we ever got to use them. The next day, Giant erupted, the first time seen by gazers since 1978. That night, we went out and placed the markers. Since I saw the start of Giant, I got to be the one holding the tape over the vent. Twelve hours after an eruption, at a time when you know it can't possibly erupt, that is still a bit of a thrilling and scary place.
I also have a copy of a video Paul Strasser made of baselines for New Crater/Steamboat being measured in 1991. On it, they determine that the southwest corner of the lower platform is about 110ft from the South Vent.
Over the past few years, a number of height baselines have been surveyed in the geyser basins by Sam Martinez, with the assistance of several other geyser gazers. Each baseline is marked with a metal disk about 1 inch in diameter impressed with the geyser's name, basin, and its distance.
While placed primarily for measuring and studying geyser heights, they can be useful for the casual observer. Just remember that at a 45° angle the height equals the distance, and you can get a feel for how high the eruption really is. The distances were chosen so that the measured angles would be between 30° and 45° in most cases. The other primary criterion was that the markers must be accessable to everyone. All markers (except Round’s) are located on legally accessable pathways, boardwalks or roads.
Baselines of 100' or less are directly determined with a tape measure from directly over the geyser's vent. Those greater than 100' were determined with an intermediate point located halfway (when possible). When a geyser's water column is sharply angled (for example: Daisy, Vent or Riverside), the baseline is measured from the point directly below the point of greatest height for a typical eruption.
All of the markers currently placed and maintained are listed in the table, along with the distance and a short description of the location. Sometimes these markers have disappeared, probably as a strange souvenir. Please report any disappearances to Sam or myself.
Geyser
Distance
Notes
Aurum
50
South on boardwalk
50
North on boardwalk across from Beach
Beehive
200
Northwest on boardwalk, near Depression
200
East on boardwalk, between Plume and Anemone
≈275
South on boardwalk corner across river *
Castle
200
South on asphalt trail east of first tree
100
North on boardwalk, 6th railing upright
Clepsydra
100
Southeast on boardwalk near Spasm
100
Southeast on boardwalk near Jelly
Daisy
200
Southwest on asphalt, near bridge over runoff channel
100
West on boardwalk, beside Splendid
100
North on boardwalk †
Fan & Mortar
100
Large rock east of asphalt and benches
Fountain
100
South on boardwalk near Jet
100
Southwest on boardwalk near Spasm
Giant
200
South on boardwalk
200
North on boardwalk, behind trees
Giantess
200
Northwest on boardwalk, northwest of Pump
222
South on boardwalk, beside Anemone
≈260
Northwest on boardwalk beside Infant
Grand
200
South on asphalt beside trail junction near Belgian
200
Northwest on boardwalk, south of unnamed gray pool
≈110
West on boardwalk beside prediction sign *
Great Fountain
200
East on asphalt, across from prediction sign, at end of painted line
200
Northeast on road between 3rd and 4th culverts
Grotto Fountain
100
Southwest on cement block east of walkway
Lion
100
Northeast on boardwalk, near North Goggle and boardwalk junction
100
Southeast on boardwalk
Mastiff
100
West on short boardwalk over Daisy's runoff channel
Morning
200
Southeast on boardwalk just west of stairs
200
Southwest on boardwalk east of Jelly
Oblong
150
On northeast bridge abutment
130
Northwest on boardwalk
Penta
50
Southwest on boardwalk, near trail junction
50
North on boardwalk, beside Oval
Pink Cone
50
Northeast on asphalt
50
Southwest on asphalt
Plume
50
East on boardwalk between markers for Beehive and Giantess
50
West on boardwalk over Plume runoff channel
Rocket
100
Southwest on asphalt, south of junction with boardwalk
100
Northwest on asphalt, west of Grotto Fountain
Round Geyser
100
North
100
West
Sawmill
50
Southeast on boardwalk, near Tardy
50
West on boardwalk, near Churn
Spa
50
North on asphalt, on small trail loop
50
SW on asphalt
Splendid
200
Southeast on asphalt, near benches south of Bonita
200
South on boardwalk, near west end
200
West on boardwalk, at sharp bend to south
200
Northeast on boardwalk †
Vent
100
West on boardwalk over Grand's main runoff channel
100
Northwest on boardwalk
White Dome
100
On boardwalk near asphalt
100
South on boardwalk
110
On asphalt at end of parking area
* Estimated, no marker actually placed. † These two markers are about 20' apart.
Twenty-some years ago, when it was still alive, this was known as the "Beehive Tree". On the far side there was a clear view of both Geyser Hill and down basin as far as Daisy.
A number of people, including me, would sit here when Beehive might be due. t was shady in the afternoon, unlike many other places you might want to wait, and back then the NPS generally didn't herd people down to the overlook when the Indicator started. If you got there early enough, you could also park your vehicle nearby in the Inn parking lot.
Of course as in so many places, new trees have come up to block the views, but what killed it? It's been suggested that the water from Old Faithful runoff on the right, has percolated under the walkway and has drowned its roots. It may also be that all our sitting at its base exposed the roots enough to make it susceptible to that runoff, too.
In the early 1980s, we got permission to do some "thermal cleanup" on a number of geysers. Cleaning up larger vents is easy, because there's plenty of room to get in and workaround and places to leverage tools.The smaller vents, however, could present a challenge.
Two small vents that we got cleaned out as best we could were Anemone's Third Vent and Penta's Sixth Vent. Both are only a couple of inches across, and almost too small for a human hand.
When I first visited the Upper Basin in the early 1980s, I noticed that when the water levels in the Sawmill Group were high, a spot next to the boardwalk between Penta and Oval was wet. In talking with Marie Wolf, I learned that there once was a small vent there, which supposedly would erupt in conjunction with Penta. When we got the permission to do some cleanup, this was one vent I was determined to see.
By hand, we were a able to quickly expose a circular rim of hard sinter. Some more scooping exposed the trumpet shape of the vent, but down about 4 inches, it was so narrow that you could only grab a pebble at a time. Tongs and bent spoons helped, but our excavation was slow.
As it turned out, the vent itself is only about 6-8 inches deep, with a almost flat floor. To the left (as seen from the boardwalk) there was a small crack about 1 inch wide and maybe two long where water entered. Since lights showed no obstruction, our cleanup on that feature was finished.
In the years since, the vent has to be periodically cleaned out, as there seems to be a type of person who enjoys destroying things, and it only takes a couple swipes with the foot to push in a lot of gravel. Even now it needs some work.
Cleaning at Anemone presented a special challenge, since every seven minutes it would spend a minute refilling every hollow and hole with boiling water, and there's no way to stop it.
Bailing out the water with a bucket was slow and tedious because the bucket was way to big and the area too shallow to allow much water to get in. Smaller glasses worked a little better, but took time. By the time we got most of the water away, the gurgling from Anemone said it was time to stand back.
I don't remember who solved the problem, but the solution was not to bail, but to pour in colder water so as to get the temperature down to a reasonable value. Doing this allowed us to start removing years of gravel and debris from the vent.
Then we were stuck. Wedged into the hole was a rock of some sort. We tried wiggling and prying and pulling by hand, but it wouldn't budge. Finally we used a crowbar to extract a chunk of concrete about the size of a 8oz block of cheese. When Paul Strasser finally triumphantly pulled it out, we were rewarded by the remaining water we'd been working through suddenly draining out of sight.
Unfortunately, Anemone continued to wash debris into the vent, clogging it on its own only about a year later. As this was a natural process, and not the result malicious action, no attempt was made to clean the vent out again. But if you know where to look, you can still see the outline of that vent.
