368 REPOKT UNITED STATES GEOI^OGICAL SUEVEY. 



"When similar arrangements are made in the Yellowstone Park we 

 will learn the values of the different waters. One thing is certain, we 

 have there all the conditions necessary for baths of all kinds, and it is 

 for bathing that thermal waters are mainly used. The range of tem- 

 perature is all that is needed, and vapor baths can be extemporized 

 almost anywhere. 



A considerable portion of the benefit derived from a residence at certain 

 watering places is doubtless due to various other hygienic conditions, 

 such as altitude, change of scene or habits, &c. As a sanitarium the 

 Yellowstone Park offers the most varied attractions, and now that rail- 

 road access to it is daily becoming easier, its value will be more highly 

 appreciated. 



When we were at Gardiner's Eiver Springs in 1871 we found a num- 

 ber of persons, who were residents of Montana, using the waters (mainly 

 for external use) with benefit. Chronic forms of rheumatism and some 

 syphillitic diseases would doubtless be alleviated by the use of these 

 waters. Dr. 0. L. Heizmann has paid some attention to this subject 

 and his classification of the Yellowstone springs has already been re- 

 ferred to. In his report to Captain Jones he says: 



Reference to the meteorological tables will explain the unfitness of this region, ex- 

 cept for «on-debilitating diseases, those of the cutaneous and lymphatic systems of 

 the skin, scrofulous (but not tubercular) diseases, rheumatisms, and articular mala- 

 dies. For asthmatic diseases, bronchial catarrhs, and some forms of dyspepsia; for 

 phthisis, malarial sequalse, &c., it is evidently inappropriate, and for an additional 

 reason, that of the debilitating result of even a few days' inhalation of the sulphurous 

 air about springs.* 



CHAPTER IV. 



\ 



COMPAEISON OF GEYSER REGIONS. 



It is of course difficult for one who has not seen each one of the three 

 geyser regions (Iceland, New Zealand, and the Yellowstone National Park) 

 to make anything like a complete comparison of their features, and cer- 

 tainly it is impossible to be dogmatic. Still, nature works according to 

 laws that are the same in all parts of the globe, and a view of any one 

 of the three regions will, to a great extent, help to explain phenomena 

 observed in either or both of the others. The comparison can, perhaps, 

 be more readily made when the American locality is the one actually ob- 

 served, as the Iceland and New Zealand fields have been known for a 

 long time, and have been more thoroughlj^ studied and described than 

 the Yellowstone Park. This is especially true of the geyser of Iceland, 

 while our own geysers are only just beginning to be subjects of careful 

 scientific investigation. 



In the few following pages it is proposed to consider briefly the ex- 

 tent, resemblances, differences, and comparative age of the three regions 

 already indicated. 



Extent. — The three small maps incorporated in this report (pages 71, 

 304 and 313) present to the eye, probably in the best manner, a compara- 

 tive view of the three great geyser regions. Expressed in figures the 

 areas within which the springs are included are as follows : 



Square miles. 



Iceland 5,000 



New Zealand 2,500 



Yellowstone National Park 3,578 



* Reconnaissance of N. W. Wyoming, sc. p. 307. 



