GEYSERS. 169 
whiteclouds floating off from the chimney-like geyser cones, form a 
scene never to be forgotten by those fortunate enough to behold it. 
Within this basin there are nearly thirty geysers, presenting many 
variations of bowl or basin, mound and cone, and whose eruptions are 
equally diversified in form and beauty. 
Sentinel, Fan, Cascade, Riverside, Mortar, and Grotto, greet one on 
entering the basin, either by quiet steaming or by flashing jets. Giant, 
Splendid, Castle, Grand, Giantess, Lion, and Old Faithful are but a 
few of the wondrous fountains of the place. The last is most deserving 
of its name. Every since its discovery, in 1870, it has not failed to send 
up a graceful shower of jets at a regular interval of sixty-five minutes. 
Its beauty is ever varying, as wind and sunlight play upon it, and the 
mound about its vent is adorned with delicately tinted basins of salmon, 
pink, and yellow, filled with limpid water whose softness is enticing. It 
is the geyser of the park, and indeed of the world, and many a visitor 
to “ geyserland” departs without seeing any other of the many spouters 
in action and yet feels more than repaid for the journey. For beauty 
of surroundings, the Castle will perhaps be awarded the palm; its 
sinter chimney or cone is formed of exquisite cauliflower or coral-like 
geyserite whose general form makes the geyser’s name appropriate. Its 
eruptions are frequent, occurring about every thirty hours, when a 
stream of hot water is thrown up to a height of 75 feet for some 
fifteen minutes, followed by the emission of steam, with a loud roar 
that can be heard for miles. A few hours after the eruption the tube 
is again full, and occasional jets of 10 to 20 feet are thrown out until 
the next eruption ensues. 
The greatest geyser of the park, and, indeed the grandest of the 
whole world, is Excelsior, some 25 miles beyond the Norris Basin. Un- 
like the less capricious and more fountain-like geysers of the Upper 
Firehole, this monster of geysers does not spout from a fissure in the 
rock, nor from a crater or cone of its own building. It is a monster of 
destruction, having torn out its great crater in the old sinter-covered 
slope, builded by the placid and beauteous Prismatic Lake. The walls, 
formed by the jagged ends of the white sinter layers, are lashed by 
the angry waters that are ever undermining the sides and enlarging the 
caldron. The eruptions are so stupendous that all other geysers are 
dwarfed by comparison. The grand outburst is preceded by several 
abortive attempts, when great domes of water rise in the center and 
burst into splashing masses 10 to 15 feet high, while the waters surge 
under the overhanging walls and overtlow the slope between the crater 
and the river. Finally, with a grand boom or report that shakes the 
ground, an immense fan-shaped mass of water is thrown up to a height 
of 200 or more feet, great clouds of steam rolling off from the boiling 
water, while large blocks of the white sinter are flung far above the 
water and fall about the neighboring slopes. It is a sight that inspires 
enthusiasm in the most phlegmatic, and few can resist the temptation 
