GEYSER 



These manifestations are most freqiu-mh met with 



knesses of 



'.MARA 



195 



large masse* and thicknesses ofrock have 

 uiidi-rgom* extensive crushing, fracture, ami < ..... i 

 pie-Mon which may account not only for the snli- 

 tenanean heat, hut also for tin- presence of the 

 underground passage* apparently necessary for the 

 production of a geyser. 



'I'lii- geysers of the Yc||ow>ton' region are prob- 

 alily the most pirlurc-Miui- ami wonderful in the 

 world : on tin- Kireliole River alone, within an area 

 of .SO sq. in., there are probably 50 geysers, throw- 

 ing columns of water to a height of from 50 to 200 

 feet. while smaller jets ri>e occasionally to 250 feet. 

 The 'Old Faithful' geyser, in this region, throws 

 nil a column of water feet in diameter to a height 

 ol UK) to 150 feet, at intervals of about an hour. 

 Near the north entrance to the National Park, 

 also, are the hot springs of the Gardiner River ; 

 here the ' White Mountain,' built up of terraces 

 of white calcareous deposits, rises to a considerable 

 height, with a diameter of 150 yards at the top. 

 The terraces are of varying width, measuring from 

 a few inches to many feet, and are separated one 



'Old Faithful 'Geyser. 



from another by small cliffs of from 6 inches to 10 

 or 12 feet in height. From the top of the mound 

 water is continually trickling down over these 

 rocks and terraces, the precipitate left l>ehind ever 

 slowly adding to the bulk of the cone. As the 

 streams fall from terrace to terrace they are received 

 into several natural basins, and, as the water gradu- 

 ally cools as it nears the bottom, bathers are enabled 

 to choose almost any temperature of water, and 

 these natural baths are largely taken advantage of. 

 See YELLOWSTONE. 



The geysers of Iceland are situated within sight 

 of Mount Hekla, 16 miles north of Skalholt, and 

 are the hottest springs in Europe, as well as the 

 best known in the world. Norwegian writers 

 of the 12th century noted their presence, but it 

 was nearly 600 years later before native authors 



.|. . ii!..-.| or noticed them in any way. The princi- 

 pal geysers of this region are known a* the ' Cireat 

 r ' or ' Roarer," ami the ' Stroker ' or ' Churn.' 

 The former consists of the usual mound of HiliceouB 

 incrustations, almost circular and about 40 feet in 

 height, the top forming a basin measuring 52 feet 

 by 60 feet, lined with a pure white siliceous coating 

 of considerable hardness. A tul*?, 74 feet in 

 length, communicates with the interior of the 

 geyser, the upper opening l>eing in the centre 

 of the basin. There can In- no doubt that the 

 geyser has itself built up the tutu- and mound 

 a work, according to careful calculations and ex- 

 periments undertaken on the spot in 1859 by Com- 

 mander Korlies, which must have occupied over 

 eleven centuries. Probably the best account of 

 this geyser is that of Henderson, who visited the 

 district in 1814. The ' Churn ' lias an irregular 

 opening, not more than eight feet wide, the tube 

 decreasing in width as it descends, permitting one 

 to look down upon the boiling water 20 feet below 

 without much danger to the observer. If the 

 orifice be temporarily choked by throwing in turf 

 the water will soon burst through, rising 60 

 feet into the air, carrying the obstruction along 

 with it, and diffusing dense clouds of steam in 

 all directions. 



The geysers of New Zealand attained celeb- 

 rity principally on account of the beautiful 

 terraces associated with them, and have often 

 been described and figured. Unfortunately, 

 volcanic activity manifested itself throughout 

 the region in June 1886, resulting in much 

 loss of life and property, and in tne destruc- 

 tion of the terraces. The basins connected 

 with these geysers, catching the overllow of 

 water, are, lilce those of the Yellowstone 

 region, largely used by bathers, and are much 

 resorted to by invalids. Froude and Martin 

 may be consulted for descriptions of typical 

 New Zealand geysers. See MINERAL WATERS. 

 Gfrflrer, AUGUST FRIEDRICH, a German 

 historian, was born at Calw, in the Black 

 Forest, 5th March 1803. He studied theology 

 at Tubingen, next lived at Lausanne, Geneva, 

 and Rome, becoming on his return in 1828 a 

 Repetent at Tubingen, and in 1830 librarian 

 at Stuttgart. He now gave himself with much 

 zeal to historical studies, of which the first 

 fruit was his Philo iind die Jvdisck-Alexand- 

 rinische Theosophie (1831 ), followed by Gustav 

 Adolf ( 1835), a work which aimed at bringing 

 into prominence the political rather than the 

 religious r61e of the great Swedish king. His 

 Gesckichte des Urchristenthums (1838) was called 

 forth by the greater work of Strauss. In his 

 Allgemeine Kirrlu iitjcachichte ( 1841-46 ), coining 

 down to 1305, he first spoke out his admiration 

 for the polity of the Roman Church. Soon 

 after he was called to the chair of History at 

 Freiburg, and in 1848 he was sent to the 

 Frankfort parliament, where he was one of the 

 most decided adherents of the party called the 

 Grossdeutschen, the fanatical opponents of Prussia. 

 He formally went over to Rome in 1853, and 

 thereafter was distinguished by his large share 

 of the intolerance or the convert, although all 

 the while he was never a dogmatically satisfactory 

 Catholic. He died at Carlsbad, July 6, 1861. 

 His most important other works were GcschicJite 

 </<> KaruliH<i<-r (1848) and Papst Gregorius VIL 

 (1859-61). All his works are learned, often per- 

 versely so ; his conclusions are too often more 

 i uue i lions than sound. 



Ghadames. See GADAMES. 

 Gliara is the name sometimes given to the 

 united stream formed by the junction of the Sutlej 



