PEALE.] HEART LAKE GEYSER BASIN WITCH CREEK SPRINGS. 291 



and at the lower end flows with a most tortuous course through a marsh 

 to the lake. The following temperatures were taken in the creek : 



Location. 



Time. 



fs.a 





Above the Upper Gronp 



Opposite springs 6 and 7 of Fissure Gronp 



On branch from No. 18 of Fissure Gronp 



Below junction of branch from No. 18, Fissure Group 



Immediatelv below all springs of Fissure Group 



Above the Middle Group 



Opposite the Lower Gronp 



Below the Lower Group 



Mouth of the creek 



Lake opposite creek 



°F. 



63 



110 



129 



109 



120 



113 



85 



83 



78 



66 



12. 30p.m. 



57 



10 a. m 



4 p. m . . 



59 



At no point below the Upper Group did we find the water of the 

 creek di'inkable. For the purpose of description, I find It convenient to 

 divide the springs on Witch Creek into four groups, viz, Upper Group, 

 Fissure Group, Middle Group, and Lower Group, which will be described 

 in the order here given. 



UPPER GROUP. 



This group of springs consists largely of mud holes, steam vents, and 

 solfataras. The upper springs are between 300 and 400 feet above the 

 level of the lake. The collection at Nos. 1 and 2 is made up largely of 

 steam vents and mud holes. They extend up the slopes of the hills on 

 both sides of the creek, which are brilliantly colored with reds, greens, 

 yellows, and purple, on white grounds. 



In iSTo. 3 steam escapes at one end with a thumping noise. Below the 

 hills in which I^os. 3 and 4 are situated, the creek enters a narrow 

 canon-like ravine, from which it flows with an abrupt turn to the left 

 around a platform of geyserite on which the Spike Geyser (No. 5) is 

 located. This geyser or spring will be best understood by a reference 

 to the accompaning illustration (Plate XXXIX). The highest cone is 

 about 2 feet and beautifully beaded, as are also all the smaller cones. 

 This bead-like formation has a pearly luster. The water spurts con- 

 stantly from small holes in the tops of the cones. Below the geyser, 

 near the edge of the stream, is a white pool (e) from which a bridge of 

 deposit extends over the creek. The outside of this white pool is brill- 

 iant in its coloring. Orange, lemon-yellow, and salmon colors are 

 streaked on a milk-white ground in the utmost profusion, as though 

 some painter had emptied pots of paint over the hard sediment from the 

 springs. The table accompanying will give the temperatures observed. 

 On the opposite side of the creek from the Spike Geyser is a ravine in 

 a clay bank of brilliant greens and reds, in which numerous steam jets 

 and mud springs exist. In the flat bordering the creek the ground is 

 filled with simmering holes, and resembles some huge boiling vat. 



Following down the creek we soon come to the Deluge Geyser (Plates 

 XXXVIl and XXXVIII), which is the handsomest basin in the group. 

 It is situated at the base of a low hill, some feet above the level of the 

 creek, and its overflow pours over a mound of deposit to reach the 

 stream. It has an irregular-shaped basin, in which the water appears 

 to have a deep bluish-gray tint. The border is handsomely ornamented 

 with cushion-like masses of deposit, which are pink and yellow below 

 and gray and white on top. Outside of the basin are pools of standing 

 water, in which are delicate rose-colored, rosette-like masses. The 



