Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you get bored waiting for the old salt, pause a minute to consider the power of recyc-
ling - you are sitting on a boardwalk made from around three million recycled plastic wa-
ter jugs.
OBSERVATION HILL
For a pre- or post-eruption overview of the entire basin, follow a branch trail from the
Firehole River up a couple of hundred vertical feet to Observation Point for an alternative
view of the Old Faithful eruption. From here you can descend to Solitary Geyser to rejoin
the boardwalk for a 1.1-mile loop.
Solitary Geyser
started off as a hot spring until it was diverted into a swimming pool
in 1915 (the pool was dismantled in 1950). The lowering of the water level turned the
spring into a geyser, triggering eruptions that continue to this day, even though water
levels have returned to normal. Small sudden bursts occur every four to eight minutes.
GEYSER HILL
This collection of geysers closest to Old Faithful is most easily visited clockwise on the
inner boardwalk loop. Not far from Old Faithful is the unmarked
Chinese Spring
, named
after an Asian (actually Japanese) laundry that once operated here. Dirty clothes were put
into the spring along with soap, and the owners waited for the clothes to fly out, appar-
ently clean, in an induced eruption. Don't try a repeat performance, unless you want a
citation.
Nearby, riverside
Blue Star Spring
was the site of a macabre incident in winter
1996-97, when a young bison fell into the boiling waters and died, causing the pool to
smell like beef soup for days.
Consistent seepage from
Giantess Geyser
and
Vault Geyser
have created geyserite
terraces that look like scaled relief maps. Giantess springs to life between two and six
times a year, though when active the geyser erupts twice hourly for up to 40 hours. The
surrounding area shakes from underground steam explosions just before it erupts. Vault
Geyser was inactive for a decade until bursting back into life in 1998.
Doublet Pool
is known for its deep blue color, thin scalloped geyserite border and the
occasional thumping that emanates from collapsing steam and gas bubbles deep under-
ground.
Aurum Geyser
('aurum' means gold in Latin) is thought to be connected some-
how to water deposits in the meadow behind it. It erupts to 20ft every 2½ to five hours.
The
Lion Geyser
group is a gathering of four interconnected geysers (two lions and
two cubs), whose eruptions are preceded by a roar, hence the name.
Heart Spring
is said
to resemble the shape of a human heart.
