GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



67 



large 

 leading to 



flows slowly, myriads of the little basins are formed, one below the other, 

 with a kind of irregular system, as it might be called, which constitutes 

 the difference between the works of nature and the works of art. The 

 water holds a great amount of lime in solution. It also contains some 

 soda, alumina, and magnesia. The ebullition is largely due to the emission 

 of large quantities of carbonic acid gas. As these waters flow down the 

 sides of the mountain, they constantly deposit more or less of this calca- 

 reous sediment in almost every possible variety of form. Underneath 

 the sides of many of these pools are rows of stalactites of all sizes, many 

 of them exquisitely ornamented, formed by the dripping of the water 

 over the margins of the basins. The annexed illustrations will convey 

 some idea of the form of these bathing-pools as they are arranged one 

 above the other, but the beautiful series of photographs taken hj Mr. 

 Jackson are of far greater ralue. Even the photograph, which is so re- 

 markable for its fidelity to nature, falls far short. It fails to give the 

 exquisitely delicate contrasts of coloring which are so pleasing to the 

 eye. (Fig. 13.) 



On the west side of this deposit, about one-third of the way up the 



White Mountain from the river and terrace, which was once the theater 



pj J .^ of many active springs, old 



chimneys, or craters, are scat- 

 tered thickly over the surface, 

 and there are several 

 holes and fissures 

 vast caverns beneath the crust. 

 The crust gives off a dull hollow 

 sound beneath the tread, and 

 the surface gives indistinct evi- 

 dence of having been adorned 

 with the beautiful pools or ba- 

 sins just described. As we pass 

 up to the base of the principal 

 terrace,we find a large area cov- 

 ered with shallow pools, some 

 of them containing water with 

 all the ornamentations perfect, 

 while others are fast going to 

 decay, and the decomposed sed- 

 iment is as white as snow. Up- 

 on this kind of sub-terrace is a 

 remarkable cone about 50 feet 

 in height and 20 feet in diameter at the base. 

 From its form we gave it the name of the Liberty 

 Cap. (Fig. 14.) It is undoubtedly the remains 

 of an extinct geyser. The water was forced up 

 with considerable power, and probably with- 

 out intermission, building up its own crater 

 until the pressure beneath was exhausted, and 

 then it gradually closed itself over at the sum- 

 mit and perished. No water flows from it at 

 the present time. The layers of lime were deposited around it like 

 the layers of straw on a thatched roof or hay on a conical stack. Not 

 far from the Liberty Gap is another small cone, which, from its form, we 

 called the " Bee-hive." These springs are constantly clianging tlioir 

 position ; some die out, others burst out in new places. A fine large spring 

 made its appearance for the first time in August last on this terrace. On 



LIBERTY CAP, 



