GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



149 



The Bee Hive is on the opposite side of the river from Old Faithful, 

 and about 300 yards distant in a northwesterly direction. It is on the 

 bank of the river and recognizable at once by its cone, which is 3 feet 

 in height and almost circular, measuring 3 feet by 4 feet at the top and 

 20 feet in circumference at the base. It is coated with beautifully 

 beaded formations which, in some places, have a ]>early aspect. The 

 orifice at the top of the cone measures 3 feet by 2 feet, and the line 

 dropped into the tube reaches a depth of 21 feet. The eruptions are 

 very fine, and peculiar to this geyser. The water and steam escape 

 from the orifice with great force in a steady stream. The average of the 

 height of the column, which is fan-shaped, is very high, and, what is the 

 curious, no water falls from it, but it seems to be entirely resolved into 

 spray, which evaporates as soon as formed. Three eruptions were wit- 

 nessed, but all from a distance, and we were able to get the height of 

 but one, which was over 100 feet. 



The following table gives the eruptions we saw : 



The duration and interval are both seen to vary, although a greater 

 number of observations are necessary to deduce any conclusions, as there 

 may be as it were a sort of regular irregularity. 



Giantess. — This geyser is on the same side of the river as the Bee- 

 Hive and only 200 yards from it. It has a large basin, measuring 23J 

 feet by 32J feet, in which the water is 03 feet deep and appears of a 

 green color. When I took its temperature, two days after the eruption, 

 the water was level with the rim and perfectly quiet, the mercury 

 recording 192° F.; air, 50° F., at 11.50 a. m. The only time we observed 

 it in action was on the evening of August 18. The eruption commenced 

 at 0.50.30 p. m., and lasted 17 minutes, starting again at 7.43.30 p. m. 

 This lasted about the same length of time; at 8.48.30 p. m. it was fol- 

 lowed by a third. The maximum height of the water was 39 feet; aver- 

 age, 30 feet ; the steam reaching a height of 09 leet. The angles for 

 height were taken from the end of a base-line 200 feet in length. There 

 was an immense mass of water thrown up which surged and splashed in 

 all directions, with seventy-three ])ulsations per minute. After the erup- 

 tion the water sank 20 feet in the basin. 



Around the Bee-Hive and Giantess there is a group of springs 

 in which 1 took ten temperatures, ranging from 118° F. to 190° F., the 

 average being 1730.6 F. Among them are a numberof cones, which are 

 probably geysers spouting at long intervals, although none of them were 

 seen in action. On one of these I saw the bodies of about a dozen mice, 

 that had the appearance of having been scalded to death. 



Castle Geyser is farther down the river, 430 yards from the Giarltess, 

 on the opposite side. It has one of the most noticeable craters that is 

 found in the basin. The cone is on a platform measuring 75 by 100 

 feet and 3 feet in height. Above this platform it rises 11 feet 11 

 inches. It is 120 feet in circumference at the base and 20 feet diameter 



