142 



OLAFSEiV AND POVEL3EN*S 



On the sixth report, the first propulsion took place, and 

 the water rose to-a-great height; after which every successive re- 

 port was the signal for a new ascent, each of which carried the 

 water higher than thai which had previously taken place. Th& 

 pebbles and stones we had thrown into the bason were split 

 in a thousand .pieces, and thrown up much higher than the co- 

 lumns of water, which always terminated in a point. We took 

 the precaution to place ourselves to windward, that we might 

 not be incommoded by the thick smoke which had prevented us 

 from seeing the opposite side. From the very beginning we had 

 observed, that at each propulsion the water which was in the 

 bason was agitated, and raised so as to overflow the crater in 

 every part ; but particularly on the northern side, where it fell 

 into a small valley and formed a rivulet, in which the water at 

 a great distance from the Geyser still retained such a degree of 

 lieat that the feet of the cattle which passed it were often scalded. 



The spouting of the Geyser was this time greater and more 

 violent. According to our observation, the greatest rise of the 

 water was not quite so high as the mountain or Laugafell which 

 is opposite to the Geyser, and whose elevation may be about 

 Seventy fathoms; we estimated the height of the spouting water 

 at sixty. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, however, who 

 daily see the Geyser, pretend that the water has often spouted as 

 high as the summit of the mountain in question, and when this 

 occurs they expect rainy and stormy weather. The propulsions 

 lasted, in all, ten minutes; and an interval of about three seconds 

 occurred between each subterraneous detonation which announced 

 the ascent of the water. In consequence, there were at this time 

 about two hundred jets altogether. 



OF THE NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE GEYSER. 



Hothing is known with certainty relative to the sources of the 

 Geyser; it not having been ascertained, whether the water that 

 is propelled from it proceeds from the neighbouring mountains, 

 or from the sea. The former opinion is the oldest, and perhaps 

 the most reasonable. In the Danish Mercury for 17-54, are 

 some details relative to this spring, in which it is stated that the 

 variations in the issuing of the water have no fixed period. The 

 rock from which it proceeds has. increased in the course of 

 time, by an accumulation of the thermal turf which we have 

 already described, which in its colour appears at first sight like 

 the crust that is found at the bottom of boilers: that of the 

 Geyser is'very hard and uneven, and is dispersed in thin layers one 

 above the other; and the whole rock is formed of this substance. 



The boiling water of the Geyser has a petrifying quality, as 

 we had opportunities of ascertaining. The pebbles and ther- 



