Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Giantess Geyser
rests in a deep pool high atop Geyser Hill. The boardwalk is placed a
safe distance away, because when the geyser is active, it can erupt as high as 200 feet (60 m)
with very little warning. Giantess is surely the queen of the hill, with influence over many
other springs and geysers; her eruptions are known to affect Vault, Teakettle, Infant, Sponge,
Doublet, Beach, Ear, Plume, and Beehive. Early writers who saw Giantess erupt described
“globular masses of vapor” that were “domed at the top like a crystal cupola.” Steam phases,
which can alternate with water phases, make a deafening roar that may be heard a mile away.
Eruptions can last many hours—one induced by the 1959 earthquake lasted over four days.
However, their rarity (an average of three per year since 1984) means that you'll have to be
very lucky to see one, as was Nathaniel Langford, who named it in 1870.
Closer to the boardwalk are deep-welled Teakettle Spring with its punchbowl-shaped
crater, and Vault Geyser.
Teakettle Spring
is an excellent example of how springs change with
time. Until 1947, its crater was full to the rim. Now the water level sits deep out of sight, but
the bubbling from inside still sounds rather like a teakettle.
Some of
Vault Geyser's
eruptions occur after Giantess starts and may go to 15 feet (4.5 m),
but it can erupt independently of Giantess. An unusual attribute of Vault is that it erupts from
far below ground level rather than first filling its crater, as most geysers do.
Active once or twice a month,
Dome Geyser
sits high up the hill to the east. Twin craters
in the shape of butterfly wings nearby (but out of sight of the trail) belong to
Butterfly
Spring,
which surprised observers by bursting out in major 30-40-foot (9-12 m) muddy
eruptions—but only during May 2003.
Infant Geyser
sometimes has tiny eruptions when Giantess Geyser is active. If its cloudy,
acidic water is low in the oval cavity, you can see an unusual deep-red lining.
Geyser Route Two: Castle and Daisy Geysers and an extension to Black
Sand Pool
NOTE: This is an approved bicycle route to the Grand Loop Road near Biscuit Basin about 2.5 miles (4
km) to the north. To reach Biscuit Basin, turn left on the northern trail to the Daisy Group, then turn
The 2.4-miles (4 km) round trip to view Castle and Daisy Geysers on Geyser Route Two
is paved and can be traversed by wheelchair or bicycle. You may shorten the distance a little
by parking in the lot for the general store near Old Faithful Inn. The side trail past Daisy Gey-
ser to Punch Bowl Spring and Black Sand Pool (not fully paved and not open to bicycling) can
add another mile (1.6 km) to this excursion.
