Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tardy Geyser is the first one you encounter in a group called the Sawmill Geyser Complex.
The underground plumbing of Tardy and several other geysers is connected in an exchange of
function with Sawmill Geyser. Look closely when the water in Tardy's crater is low, and you
can see uniform coin- or biscuit-shaped geyserite knobs around the edge, as you can also in
Sawmill's crater. Tardy's eruptions are 10 to 15 feet (3-4.5 m) high.
Sawmill Geyser is the tallest—up to about 50 feet (15 m)—and the longest erupting of the
group. You'll find it erupting about 30 percent of the time, with intervals between eruptions
typically ranging from one to three hours. Its water spins about in a circle in the crater during
eruptions, sounding like the moving wooden parts in an old water-powered sawmill. Behind
Sawmill (to the west) is Uncertain Geyser, a small hole in Sawmill's formation. Sometimes
called Sawmill's Satellite Vent, Uncertain erupts when others in the group are quiet, as high as
15 feet (45 m).
S IDE T RAIL TOWARD THE R IVER
If you turn left at Sawmill to cross the river and visit Castle Geyser, you'll pass Churn Gey-
ser —not very active now but known to erupt to 10 feet (3 m). Scalloped and South Scalloped
Springs are on your right. The water deep down in Scalloped Spring reverberates in its cavern
with a satisfying gurgle. The low water level indicates that the spring was probably illegally
induced to erupt at some time in the past.
The cone high above the river to the right (downstream) is called Deleted Teakettle Gey-
ser. Its strange moniker comes from someone having added “deleted” to the records, resulting
in that word becoming part of its name. The formation to the left (upriver) is Chimney Cone
(though sometimes signed as Chimney Geyser).
Across and downriver you may make out some steaming and spouting springs called the
Terra Cotta Springs. Needy tourists seem to have found one of them, Washtub Spring, use-
ful as a laundry tub. An 1883 guidebook advised: “Sometimes the clothes are returned with
one or two pieces missing, but generally they are all safely restored in due time.”
This geyser route now returns to the main path without crossing the river. Across the Fire-
hole and up the short hill are unique Castle Geyser and its neighbors (described in Geyser
Route Two).
Back on the main walkway
To see a few more features in the interdependent Sawmill Complex, take the small loop to the
east rather than the straight walkway. These include geysers called Penta (named for its five
vents), which rarely erupts when Sawmill is active, but may go to 25 feet (7.5 m); Spasmodic,
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