PEALE.J FOEMS OF BASINS, ORNAMENTATION, ETC. 373 



basins, as the Giantess in the Upper Fire Hole Basin, and the Union in 

 the Shoshone Basin, are globular. Plans and sections of these geysers, 

 with others, are shown in Figs. 23 to 27. 



The geyser regions of Iceland and New Zealand have basins and pools 

 similar to those of the Yellowstone Park. The ornamentation is alike 

 in all regions where siliceous springs occur. The tendency is to a cir- 

 cular or oval form, and the character of the rim will depend upon the 

 character of the spring. In a quiet pool the edge may consist of scal- 

 loped plate-like masses that extend inwards over the water like cakes 

 of ice. A spring of this character is seen in the Eustic Group of the 

 Heart Lake Basin (see Plate XLI«^, Columbia Spring, in Part I). A very 

 common form is that of globular masses of siliceous sinter, which may 

 form the edge of the spring, as in the case of the Brown Sponge Spring 

 in the Shoshone Geyser Basin, or be vscattered over the bottoms of the 

 pools or basins, as in the Turban and Grand Geyser in the Upper Fire 

 Hole Geyser Basin. 



Other springs, like the Deluge Geyser in the Heart Lake Basin, have 

 edges or rims that look as though they had been cut out with a die. The 

 coloring of these rims is almost as various as the springs themselves. 

 One of the most peculiar is the Bronze Geyser, or spring, in the Shoshone 

 Geyser Basin. The pool containing the water is of a golden yellow, 

 approaching in places a saffron tinge. The rim, however, is a perfect 

 imitation of bronze. The metallic luster is perfect. 



In some springs, where iron is a prominent ingredient, the coloring 

 of the deposits surrounding the basins is brilliant. The brightest of 

 pink and rose tints are disi^layed, with reds and browns, upon a pure 

 white ground. The Grand Prismatic Spring of the Egeria Group of the 

 Lower Fire Hole Basin is one of the most brilliantly colored springs in 

 the National Park. The reader is referred to Chapter VII, of Part 1, for 

 the description. 



Among all our springs and geysers we have none that presents so 

 simple a form as the Great Geyser of Iceland on so large a scale. It 

 may be considered the typical form of a geyser having an almost per- 

 fect saucer-shaped basin, surmounting a tube remarkable for its great 

 depth. Fig. 22 gives a section of this geyser. The sides, as shown in 

 the diagram, are, perhaps, a little too regular, but it is very nearly a cor- 

 rect section, with the exception of a ledge on one side. 



ON THE COLOR OF WATER. 



One of the most interesting facts in connection with the springs of the 

 Yellowstone National Park is the color of the water in many of its 

 various springs. A glance through Part I of this report will show that 

 the tints observed are usually shades or tints of blue, grading into 

 greens, the latter becoming very brilliant where the water is contained 

 in a basin that is lined with sulphur. The blues are very pure in most 

 cases. That these colors are not peculiar to the springs of our noted 

 geyser region will be rendered evident on a perusal of Part II of this 

 report. Iceland, New Zealand, Java, and in fact every hot spring region 

 can present its green or blue tinted springs. 



Father Joseph de Acosta* writes: 



In New Spainc I have seen a spring, as it were, ink, somewhat blew; in Peru another, 

 of color red, like bloud, whereupon they called it the red liiver. 



* In the Natnral and Moral History of the Indies, by Father Joseph de Acosta, Lon- 

 don, 1G04. Printed in London for tlie Hakluyt Society, 1881, 



