OLD FAITHFUL and GEYSER HILL

 [ Old Faithful Area ] [ Geyser Hill ]

Old Faithful Area: - Map

There are a small number of small geysers and springs located along the trail around Old Faithful.

Old Faithful Geyser: Click for more information.

Blue Star Spring: [Map]

[GOSA Transactions Article]

Blue Star is a pretty Blue Pool that is usually near to boiling temperature. Because it is so close to Old Faithful it is very easy to see. Thus, not only is it popular but it has also been the subject of abuse as tourists throw trash into the pool.

Chinese Spring: [Map]

Chinese Spring rarely erupts. Most eruptions have been induced. The story is that in the early days of the park a concession was using the spring for hot water to wash clothes. The spring erupted as a geyser scattering clothes in all directions. The story is that the proprietors were Chinese, or at least Asian, hence the name. A few years ago, the name was changes from Chinaman Spring to Chinese Spring because the former name was deemed inappropriate.

Chinese Spring erupts to about 20 feet for a duration of about 2 minutes.

Geyser Hill: - Map [Picture]

There are over 40 geysers on geyser hill. Two of these, Giantess and Beehive are among the largest in Yellowstone, and thus, the world. While you will need considerable luck to see Giantess, Beehive has been fairly easy to see for about the last decade. Even if you don't see either of these two large geysers erupt, Geyser Hill is worth exploring. There are many other geysers to see along the boardwalk on the "hill" along with pretty pools and interesting sinter formations.

Anemone Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

[Anemone Geyser Description provided by Steve Gryc.]

Anemone Geyser's frequent eruptions should make this feature one of your first stops as you walk around Geyser Hill. Anemone has two vents. (There was a third vent but it is now filled with gravel and can't be seen). The vent closest to the boardwalk is the larger of the two and is informally referred to as "Big" or "North" Anemone. The vent is a round, shallow, funnel-shaped crater delicately colored with pastel pink, orange, and yellow. The spiny sinter deposits in the crater may have reminded the namer of this geyser of a sea anemone, though the round shape and colors remind this writer of the anemone flower. The larger vent gives rise to the larger eruption, though its eruptions are most often much briefer than those from the smaller vent. You can hear the water rise in Big Anemone before it quickly fills the crater and begins its bursting action. The eruption is brief, usually between 25 and 45 seconds, and quickly builds to a maximum height of about 6 to 8 feet. After the eruption the water quickly drains from sight, often with an amusing sucking or gurgling sound. Intervals between eruptions average between 6 and 10 minutes, though long eruptions from the smaller vent often have the effect of lengthening this interval.

The smaller vent, referred to as the "Little" or "South" Anemone, is colored a pale yellow and is similar in shape to the larger vent. The play from Little is considerably less vigorous than that from Big. but the eruption often lasts much longer. Splashing rarely exceeds 4 feet and is frequently less. Occasionally the splashing will stop briefly and then resume. Sometimes Little will fill and drain without erupting. Little's durations and intervals vary more than Big's. Durations of under a minute and over a half hour have been observed with intervals varying between 6 to 35 minutes.

The relation between the two vents is dynamic, and geyser gazers have noted several different modes of eruption between them. Long eruptions of Little can delay action in Big. After the Hebgen Lake earthquake of 1959, constant eruptions of Little caused Big to become dormant for a time. In recent years Big has dominated the action. During some seasons an eruption of Big will be quickly followed by an eruption of Little. At other times there will be several eruptions of Big each hour with one or two intervening longer eruptions of Little. The two vents can overlap eruptions; usually Little will start such dual eruptions with Big adding its normal short eruptions within a minute of Little's start. In dual eruptions Little's duration is usually between 3 and 4 minutes which is shorter than its normal solo eruptions.

Anemone Geyser is small and unspectacular, but its frequency and interesting patterns of eruption, along with its attractive craters, make it a worthwhile object of attention.

What to look for:

At Anemone, it is easy to view the normal cycle of a geyser's eruption. First, the water starts to rise in the vent. On some geysers this rise is slow on others it is fast. Next, the water begins to overflow. Some geysers do not require this step, others require a long period of overflow. Then, the geyser erupts. The eruption can end in two ways. At Anemone, the geyser runs out of heat energy before it runs out of water. When the energy is depleted, the steam that is driving the eruption collapses back into liquid water. This sucks the water at the surface vent back down into the plumbing system of the geyser to be reheated for the next eruption. At anemone, the suction caused by the collapsing steam is fairly strong causing a sucking sound when the water is pulled down the vent that sounds similar to the flushing of a toilet. In other geysers where the water runs out before the steam, the geyser will have a steam phase where it is mainly steam emitted from the vent with very little water. Castle is an example of a geyser with a steam phase.

Aurum Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

Aurum is a beautiful cone-type geyser. The height ranges from 15-25 feet, the duration is about 90 seconds and the interval can range from 3 hours to many hours. During some periods, Aurum is very regular and predictable. At other times its intervals are erratic and often long. One theory is that Aurum is affected by the surface water in the meadow behind the geyser. Observations seem to indicate that when the meadow is wet and marshy, Aurum's intervals are fairly regular and usually short, about 3-4 hours. When the meadow is dry, the intervals are often erratic and anywhere from 4 hours to more than 7 hours. The meadow is usually wet in the Spring, early Summer and late Fall when there is plentiful rain and snow. In the late Summer and early Fall, the meadow is usually dry unless there has been a recent heavy rainstorm.

On a few rare occasions, Aurum has been observed to have a series of two eruption. In these cases, the second eruption followed the first by 5-10 minutes and was of slightly shorter duration.

Aurum is a fun geyser to watch. It is close enough to the boardwalk that during a strong eruption, its angled plume can travel over and past the boardwalk. The water, after its flight through the air to the boardwalk, is warm but not scalding, so don't be too alarmed.

What to look for:

After an eruption, Aurum is quiet. Activity increases as the next eruption approaches. First splashing becomes visible in the vent. The splashing varies in intensity but as time progresses the overall splashing and intensity increases. As the eruption gets close, the splashing and boiling becomes almost continuous and will often have short surges to one to two feet high. A half hour or more before the eruption, two small side vents to the right of the main vent also start splashing. Then, as the geyser gets even closer to erupting, a crack in the sinter between the two side vents and the boardwalk starts to bubble and surge a little. At this point, with the main vent boiling almost constantly and surging periodically to a foot or two, with the two side vents splashing and with the small crack gurgling, one of two things can happen. If the geyser is being regular, there will probably be an eruption within the next 30 minutes. If the geyser is being irregular, this type of activity may continue for 4 or more hours. To judge what is going to happen, it is best to know what the recent intervals have been and if it has been regular. If you don't know this or even if you do, you should look at the meadow behind the geyser. If it is wet, with standing water, then the interval will likely be short and the geyser probably will erupt relatively soon. If it is dry, then be prepared for a long wait.

Beehive Geyser: Click for more information.

Beehive's Indicator Geyser: Click for more information.

Boardwalk/Abrupt Geyser: [Picture] [Map]

Although it erupts from what appears to be a very old hole in the sinter, known eruptions from Boardwalk/Abrupt are a fairly recent phenomenon. Eruptions were first seen in 1992. Because of this, no name has yet been officially given to this geyser and no unofficial name has been universally accepted. Thus the two names. Both names are frequently heard in Yellowstone. Boardwalk erupts with an angled plume to 10-15 feet, its durations are 15-20 minutes (when it was first seen durations were as much as 40 minutes) and its intervals are usually 1.5-12 hours although it has been known to go dormant. From a distance, Boardwalk can be distinguished from Plate Geyser by the steady jetting of its angled plume and the duration of the eruption.

Cascade Geyser: [Map] [Pictures] [Video] [ History ]

Cascade Geyser after many years of dormancy was seen again for the first time January 9, 1998. The first eruptions seen were muddy in nature implying that the geyser had recently reactivated. At this time, intervals were 3 to 4 minutes, durations were 19 to 23 seconds and heights were measured at 30 to 45 feet. Eruptions were in a series of bursts described as looking like an abnormally tall, long-lasting, one-burst Plume eruption.

Cascade is located near the edge of Geyser Hill at the edge of a steep precipice over the Firehole River. It is named for the cascade of water which falls into the river during an eruption.

During this most recent activity, researchers examining the geyser at close range, with NPS oversight, noted that:

"There are two vents in the crater but the eruptions seemed to issue only from the one nearer the river. Water was 2 1/2 to 3 m[eters] below overflow during the quiet period, rising some before the eruption, but remaining well below overflow even during the eruption. The cascade of water into the river results from vertical splashes falling back to the crater rim and spilling over."

Eruptions have continued into March 1998 but the intervals have increased. A report from March 16, 1998 indicated intervals ranged from 11 to 19 minutes and heights were 15-20 feet with occasional spikes of 25 to 40 feet. Usually, in the past, Cascade has only been active for a few months with the interval increasing until the geyser finally falls dormant again. How much longer Cascade will continue its current activity is anyone's guess.

Depression Geyser: [Picture] [Map]

Depression is a small fountain-type geyser. Heights range from 4 to 10 feet, durations are about 5 minutes and intervals in recent years have ranged from 8 to over 12 hours. Depression erupts from a small but deep and pretty pool. Depression's activity was greatly affected by the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake and the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake. Both earthquakes caused its intervals to decrease. After the earthquakes, over a period of years, the intervals have slowly increased.

What to look for:

It takes Depression 2-3 hours to refill after an eruption. Once overflow is reached, the water level will fluctuate slightly but overflow rarely stops. Just prior to the eruption, small bubbles can sometimes be seen rising near the middle of the pool. During some years, these bubbles start rising just before the eruption. More recently though, bubbles have started rising hours prior to the eruption. The eruption starts with heavy overflow. This is my favorite part of the eruption. After about a minute of heavy overflow, the eruption starts in earnest. There are two main vents that can be involved in the eruption. One vent is in the center of the crater and the other is in a small alcove in the right side of the crater. This second vent often kicks in towards the end of the eruption and throws water, at an angle towards the opposite side of the crater. This water rarely makes it out of the now nearly empty crater. After the eruption. the crater is empty.

Dome Geyser: [Map]

Dome Geyser sits at the highest altitude of any of the geysers on Geyser Hill. Dome's active periods usually occur shortly after the SMax of the Geyser Hill Wave but do not occur after every SMax. In fact, active periods rarely occur more than once or twice per month. Active periods last 24-48 hours. During an active period, Dome has a series of bursting type eruptions. The largest eruptions usually occur at the start of the series and can, on rare occasions, reach 20 feet. After that, most eruptions are very small and some periods are only marked by heavy steaming and overflow. Considering the small size of Dome's eruptions, it is interesting to note that Dome is often considered a bad omen for the much larger Giantess Geyser. It appears that Giantess does not like to erupt when Dome is active.

Doublet Pool: [Picture] [Map]

Doublet pool is a beautiful pool. The geyserite around the pool forms a pretty overhanging, scalloped edge. Doublet is a good place to see the large overhangs that can make walking off the boardwalks in the geyser basin so dangerous. Even though Doublet Pool has only been seen to burst as a small geyser on two or three occasions, it still is interesting to watch. On intervals of less than two hours, the right hand pool will have periods of pulsing over the vent. This pulsing is caused by steam bubbles collapsing deep in the pool and its plumbing system. When there are no people walking nearby on the boardwalk, it is often possible to sit on the bench in front of Doublet Pool and feel the thumping of the collapsing steam bubbles.

Giantess Geyser: Click for more information.

Lion Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

Lion is a fairly large geyser. It can reach 90 feet high and last over seven minutes. Lion erupts in a series of 1 to 7 or more eruptions. The initial eruption of the series is the tallest and lasts the longest. It can reach 90 feet. Unlike the other eruptions of the series, the initial eruption ends with a steam phase. Eruptions other than the initial, fall into two categories: majors and minors. Major eruptions last about 4 minutes and minors last about one minute. Both categories can reach about 50 feet in height.

Series to series intervals depend greatly upon the length of the previous series. Recently, they have been as little as 6 hour and as long as a day. In a series, the interval from the initial eruption to the second in the series, assuming that there is a second, is often between 1 and 1.5 hours. the interval between other eruptions in the series is often about one hour but can rarely be as short as 15 minutes or as long as three hours.

Lion sits on a platform with four other geysers. This is the main part of the Lion Geyser Complex. Lion sits to the northern end of the platform ,far right of the platform as you look at it from the boardwalk nearest the geyser. It has the largest cone of the geysers on the platform. The two smaller cones to its left belong to the dormant Big Cub and Lioness Geysers respectively. The last geyser, at the far left of the platform and by far the most active of the Lion Group, is Little Cub Geyser. The frequent splashing eruptions of Little Cub give the geyserite of its cone a pearly looking texture and color.

What to look for:

Prior to the initial eruption, there is little to look for. Lion will splash periodically and sometimes heavily but this can continue for hours prior to the eruption. Once the eruption starts, the subsequent eruptions in the series often occur about an hour apart, except the second eruption which often occurs about 75 minutes after the initial eruption.

Between eruptions in a series, Lion is quiet until just before the next eruption. Prior to the eruption, there is often a sudden, sometimes noisy, release of steam often followed by light splashing. The people that named Lion geyser felt that the release of steam sounded like a lion's roar. Thus, the name of the geyser. Usually, eruptions in the series are preceded by one roar but sometimes can be preceded by a number of roars. The volume of the roar can vary from almost nonexistent to quite loud. Usually as the series progresses, the roars get louder. Sometimes, the series ends with a number of roars spaced a few minutes apart. These roars do not necessarily mean that the series is over but if the roars continue for a long period and steadily get weaker, the series has probably ended.

Little Cub Geyser: [Map]

Little Cub Geyser is a member of the Lion Complex and sits at the far left of Lion's platform. Its connection to Lion Geyser is still being investigated.

The bursting play of Little Cub's relatively frequent eruptions, interval about 60-90 minutes and duration about 10 minutes, has built up a beautifully sintered formation covered in small pearly bumps. Little Cub erupts to a height of about 10 feet. Because it sits high on Lions platform, it is not possible to see into Little Cub from the boardwalk. Thus, the eruption can appear to come without warning.

Little Squirt Geyser: [Picture] [Map]

Little Squirt Geyser was named for the squirting like behavior of its 4-6 foot eruptions. Intervals are from 4-14 days. Eruptions usually coincide with SMax of the Geyser Hill Wave. Durations are around 12-18 hours.

What to look for:

When it is not erupting, Little Squirt can be hard to find. It erupts from a small, 3 inch hole, in the sinter, about half way between the boardwalk and Silver Pool. Prior to the eruption, water will be visible in the hole.

It may be more interesting to watch the water level in the pools near Little Squirt. These pools are key to understanding the Geyser Hill Wave. If you are in the Upper Geyser Basin for a few days, plan to walk past this area at least once each day. Each day note the water level in Silver and Bronze. You should note that the water level slowly changes. It is when the water is near or at overflow that you can expect to see Little Squirt. This high water period is called SMax. Little Squirt rarely erupts at times other than SMax and only rarely misses an SMax. Once you have figured out SMax, you can start looking for other manifestations of the Geyser Hill Wave.

North Goggles Geyser: [Picture][Map]

[GOSA Transactions Article]

North Goggles Geyser is a cone-type geyser. It has both major and minor eruptions. Minor eruption durations last about one minute and heights are less than 10 feet tall. Major eruption durations last about 3-4 minutes and heights are 20-50 feet tall. The taller eruptions often ended in a short but powerful steam phase. During recent years, North Goggles has been irregular and or infrequent.

In 1995, North Goggles had series of minor eruptions that started after the conclusion of a Lion Series. In that year, it also had a few major eruptions. These major eruptions occurred during a Lion series instead of the conclusion of the series like the minor eruptions.

What to look for:

North Goggles is connected to Lion Geyser and closely connected to Goggles Spring. On periods of about 10 minutes, Goggles Spring and North Goggles Geyser rise and fall. At the top, of the cycle, the water over North Gaggles bounces up and down causing a slight overflow. A few bubbles may also rise to the surface. After about 30 seconds of this, the water drains back down the vent. Even if there is no eruption, this behavior is interesting to see. Eruptions come when the water level rises and stays up. First bubbles start to rise and then the water begins to boil. If it is going to erupt, the boiling will increase as will the overflow, until the eruption starts.

Plate Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

Plate Geyser sits directly behind the large mound of Sponge Geyser. Because of this, it is hard to see Plate's pool from the boardwalk. Plate is a fountain-type geyser. Its bursting eruptions reach about 15 feet, its duration is about 5 minutes and its intervals range from 1 to 8 or more hours. It has been known to go dormant at times.

What to look for:

Prior to an eruption, the water will fill Plate's pool and bubbles will start to rise. Sometimes Plate will overflow for hours prior to the eruption and at other times it will just be reaching overflow when the eruption starts.

At a distance, Plate can be distinguished from its near neighbor, Boardwalk/Abrupt Geyser, by the bursting play of its eruption and by the shorter duration of the eruption.

Plume Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

[GOSA Transactions Articles: Vol. 5, Vol. 6]

Plume is often a very regular and frequent performer. It provides the opportunity to see a fairly large geyser at close range with very little time spent in waiting.

Plume was created by a steam explosion in 1922. In 1972 there was another steam explosion that opened a new vent. This second steam explosion changed the shape of the eruption from a beautiful 40 foot plume to a still beautiful but shorter 20-25 foot burst. In 1997 almost all eruptions occurred on intervals of 23-27 minutes and consisted of 4 short but strong bursts that each reached over 20 feet..

Some years, the eruption intervals, characteristics and number of bursts can vary greatly from eruption to eruption. The number of bursts in an eruption have been seen to vary from 2 to at least 5. The strength of the bursts have been seen to vary from nearly 25 feet to as little as 1-2 feet.

Some years Plume has shown diurnal behavior. When this happened, intervals increased significantly at night (sometime to the point that eruptions completely stopped at night) and then intervals decreased as the daylight hours progressed. No one is quite sure what caused this strange but, once started, predictable behavior.

During the winters of 1993 and 1994, Plume went dormant. When dormant, Plume overflowed gently but continuously and orange cyano-bacteria began to grow down into its vent.

What to look for:

Plume gives very little warning of a pending eruption. Between eruptions the crater appears empty from the boardwalk. A few seconds before the eruption, you can hear water gurgling in Plume's vent as water starts to rise towards the surface. (Be careful, it is easy to mistake the gurgling coming from other vents and holes near Plume for the sound you are waiting for from Plume.) Once the gurgling starts you should quickly see the water rising in the vent. The water domes above the vent and begins to overflow. Once the overflow starts, the eruptions soon follows. The eruption often consists of a series of bursts. Each burst only lasts a few seconds and is followed a few seconds later by another burst. After a burst the water in the vent drops out of sight. The start of each burst, starts in a manner similar to the start of the eruption.

Pump Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

For years, Pump was a perpetual spouter, erupting nonstop. The power of the eruptions fluctuated but never really stopped. In 1999 though, Pump behaved as a true geyser, becoming totally quiescent at times, though it was still in erpution most of the time. This was not the first time in the past two decades that Pump showed true geyser tendancies. Following the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake, Pump also showed evidence of being a true geyser with durations and intervals of seconds. Along with the behaving as a true geyser in 1999, Pump also increased in power, maximum height at times reaching 10 feet or more.

Sponge Geyser: [Picture] [Map] [Video - external link]

Sponge is the smallest geyser in Yellowstone with an official name. One story is that the name refers to the fact that a sponge could soak up all the water emitted during an eruption. Sponge plays from an impressive mound which belies the small size of its eruptions. When active, intervals are a minute or two, durations are a few seconds and heights range from 6 to 12 inches. In recent years it has often been dormant.

What to look for:

Sponge is a small geyser but when active it shows all of the aspects of a true geyser. Leading to an eruption, the water rises. The water starts to boil along one side. The boiling becomes vigorous, sometimes reaching almost a foot high. Some water may be spilled over the side to form a small runoff . The eruption itself is more of a boiling type eruption than a bursting type eruption. The eruption quickly ends and the water level in the crater drops about 6 inches where it sits until the build up to the next eruption.

Solitary Geyser: [Picture] [Map]

This geyser is located in a solitary position above Geyser Hill, along the Observation Point Trail. Gustavus Bechler uses the name "Solitary Spring" for this isolated feature on his map drawn for the second Hayden Survey in 1872. Prior to 1915, Solitary did erupt as a small geyser but in that year it was artificially altered, resulting in much more powerful and frequent eruptions.

In 1915 Solitary was chosen to be the hot water source for a swimming pool, the Old Faithful Geyser Bath. [The pool, formerly located in the meadow across the Firehole River from Geyser Hill, downstream from Old Faithful Geyser, was closed in 1948 and dismantled in 1950.] To get the water, a channel was cut into the side of Solitary Geyser. The subsequent lowering of the water level allowed greater boiling to occur at depth in Solitary's plumbing system and turned "Solitary Spring" into Solitary Geyser.

When the swimming pool was closed, the gouge in Solitary's runoff channel was repaired. Even so, almost 50 years later, Solitary still hasn't returned to its pre 1915 behavior.

Solitary is a fountain-type geyser. In the swimming pool years, it erupted to heights reaching 25 feet, durations were about one minute and intervals were about 5 minutes. Most eruptions are now smaller with heights normally about 6 feet, durations about one minute and intervals from 4 to 8 minutes. But, more powerful eruptions of up to 20 feet can still be seen with luck and a little patience.

[ Castle Group - Map ] [ Sawmill Complex - Map ]
[ Grand Group - Map ] [ Grotto Group - Map ] [ Daisy Group - Map ]
[ Giant Group - Map ] [ Riverside/Morning Glory Group - Map ] [ Old Road Group - Map ]

[ Biscuit Basin - Map ] [ Black Sand Basin - Map ]

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