Selected
Geysers and Pools
in the
Norris Geyser Basin
|
Selected Geysers and Pools in the Norris Geyser Basin |
[ Introduction
]
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[Norris Geyser Basin Introduction provided by Smokey Sturtevant.]
Norris Geyser basin was the last "major" thermal basin to be discovered in the Park. It was first seen in October of 1872 by two "treasure hunters" that were sitting on the top of Bunsen Peak.
Norris is the hottest and most dynamic geyser basin in Yellowstone. Temperatures have been measured as high as 135°C. This was by Drs. Allen and Day in 1930. The feature was Black Growler (Steam Vent). There are many features in Norris that are superheated. The boiling temperature here at Norris is 92.5°C.
Norris Geyser Basin is the largest concentration of acidic thermal features. Most of the thermal features here at Norris have a pH that is near 3 to 4. The measured pH in the Basin varies from 0.76 to 8.28.
The geyser basin is separated into three individual basins. They are Porcelain Basin, Back Basin and 100 Spring Plain. Porcelain Basin is the smallest in area. It has the appearance of another world. There is little vegetation in this basin. The thermal features breaking through a large crust of sinter and geyserite. The activity in Porcelain Basin is highly variable. There are numerous features that are active one year and gone the next. They might be dormant for many years and suddenly re-activate. Others that have had regular activity may suddenly go quiet.
Back Basin is the next largest thermal area. It has a completely different physical makeup than Porcelain Basin. The thermal features are scattered around the basin among trees and other growth. This area is home to the most regular geyser in the Basin. Echinus Geyser is located in the far western edge of Back Basin. It is the tallest active acidic geyser is the World. With a pH of around 3.5 and a interval between eruptions of 40 to 60 minutes, Echinus is always a crowd pleaser.
Back Basin: -- Map
Cistern Spring: [Map]
The deposits from Cistern spring have created some beautiful terraces on the West side of the spring. These sinter terraces have been growing at the fantastic rate of up to 1 1/2 inches per year. In the process, several trees, now dead, have been entombed in the sinter. Rapid growth like this, though, is not that unusual in an acid area such as Norris. At times the terraces have been covered with beautifully colored cyano bacteria but at times, these organisms have been killed off by changes in water chemistry and temperature.
Cistern Spring is the only feature to have a known connection to Steamboat Geyser, located about 300 feet away and up the hill. During the 24 hours following a major eruption of Steamboat, Cistern will drop, sometimes only a half meter and other times until the crater is empty. It typically refilled in 3-4 days. At least twice, Cistern was seen to erupt at the start of a major Steamboat eruption. These eruptions of Cistern reached as much as 20 feet.
Echinus Geyser: Click for more information.
Emerald Spring: [Map]
Emerald Spring was named for its emerald color. The color is due to the refraction of blue by the water combined with yellow from sulfur deposits lining the pools walls. Emerald is usually many degrees below boiling. Bubbles seen rising to the surface are due to steam, carbon dioxide and other gasses. This is not always true though. At times, especially at times of a disturbance, Emerald Spring can become turbid and begin to boil and sometimes even erupt to 3 feet or so. In 1931, Emerald saw spectacular activity. It was in eruption fully 87% of the time with some bursts reaching 60 to 75 feet.
Porkchop Geyser: [Pictures] [Map] [Video - external link]
Porkchop Geyser went through an explosive change on September 5, 1989. On that day, it exploded.
Prior to that, Porkchop played from a "porkchop" shaped opening. The eruption emanating from a 2 inch vent in the large end of the opening. It was a vigorous geyser. But in the late 1980's it became a perpetual spouter. Its steamy nonstop eruptions reaching 30 feet. Then during a basin wide disturbance on the aforementioned date, the steam pressure became too large, and the geyser exploded. Some rocks were thrown as much as 220 feet away and large ragged rocks, still easily visible, were upended around the newly formed pool. Porkchop is now a quiet, occasionally boiling, pool.
Steamboat (New Crater) Geyser: [Pictures] [Map]
Steamboat Geyser is currently the tallest geyser in the world. Its major eruptions can soar to nearly 400 feet. Unfortunately, its major eruptions are rare and erratic. Intervals between majors have ranged from 4 days to 50 years. More common is its minor activity which which consists of splashes or small eruptions every few minutes. This minor play can reach 30 feet or more.
Steamboat is a cone-type geyser erupting from two main vents. The water phase of a major eruption lasts from 3 to 20 minutes and is followed by an extremely loud steam phase that can continue for another 12 hours. The water phase emits a large amount of water. The aftermath of which can easily be seen around the geyser. All soil in the area has been eroded away by the deluge of the eruption. All that is left is a gully scarred waste land. The volume of the steam phase has been described as painful. Many have reported hearing the geyser from miles away.
What to look for:
In 1982, Paul and Suzanne Strasser and Bill Pulliam observed the progression of minor activity that led up to a number of major eruptions. (There were 23 major eruptions that year.) They describe this progression in their GOSA Transactions article on the subject. Read an extensive excerpt from their article to learn more.
Trivia:
- Steamboat Last erupted May 2, 2000. The previous eruption was October 2, 1991.
- The geyser has two names: Steamboat Geyser and the equally official New Crater Geyser.
- Steamboat is not the tallest geyser known. That distinction belongs to New Zealand's Waimangu Geyser which during a four year period, frequently erupted to over 600 feet and occasionally erupted to over 1000 feet. Waimangu went dormant in 1914 after a mud slide drown the geyser.
Veteran Geyser: [Pictures] [Map]
[Veteran Geyser Description provided by Ralph Taylor.]
Veteran Geyser is an intriguing medium sized geyser located in the Back Basin portion of Norris Geyser Basin on the shortcut trail that branches to the west at the foot of the stairway descending from Steamboat Geyser. The trail passes Cistern Spring, then emerges from a stand of pine trees and passes a few meters from Veteran Geyser's crater.
Veteran Geyser erupts from three vents located in a complex formation on the south side of the trail. Nearest the trail is a large sinter lined basin, roughly elliptical in shape. The back (south) wall of the basin, farthest from the trail, contains the geyser's main vent. A second vent, the pool vent, is located in the back wall of the trailside basin. These two vents both connect to a large hollow cavern in the back wall of the crater. The third vent is located to the west (right) of the formation next to the trail.
Veteran's behavior appears chaotic at first. There is almost constant boiling, rumbling, and splashing from the main vent and the vent in the main basin. Water continually spurts from the main and pool vents and there is constant evolution of steam. The activity ebbs and builds. When Veteran is inactive, that is all that happens.
When Veteran is active, it has major eruptions separated by periods of low intensity play and weak minor eruptions. Following a major eruption, Veteran stops all activity completely. Following the pause, activity gradually resumes, reaching a level of normal play, which eventually builds into an eruption, usually a weak minor eruption. The minor eruption ends in a pause. This cycle of normal play- minor eruption - pause continues, until a major eruption occurs.
The major eruptions are spectacular, ejecting a heavy volume of water at a thirty degree angle toward the dead tree in the distance. The stream can reach 15 meters (about 50 feet) from the vent! During these major eruptions, the pool fills to a depth of 30cm (1 foot) with blue water. On many major eruptions, the vent at the right just next to the trail also erupts right at the end of the major.
The bad news is that it is very hard to tell whether Veteran is in the inactive mode with continuous low intensity play, or is between majors and building up to a real eruption. You just have to stand and wait an hour or so -- if there have been no bigger eruptions by then, it is probably in one of its inactive phases.
Vixen plays from a funnel shaped vent close to the boardwalk. Unfortunately, this funnel often attracts the wrong type of attention. Vandalism, in the form of rocks being thrown in to the vent, has been a frequent occurrence in the last few years. Fortunately, so far, it has always been possible to remove the rocks before permanent damage has occurred. It would be a shame to lose such a pretty geyser.
Vixen has both Major and Minor eruptions. When active, minor eruptions can occur every few minutes, lasting only a few seconds and reaching 6 to 10 feet. They don't even put out enough water to form a run off channel. But because of their frequency, even these are fun to watch. They pale in comparison though to the much less frequent major eruptions. The jetting of a major eruption reaches 35 to 40 feet and produces enough water to form a run off. Majors have durations of several minutes to, on very rare occasions, as much as an hour. Unfortunately, in recent years, periods of even minor activity have been rare.
Porcelain Basin: -- Map [Picture][More Pictures]
Blue Geyser is a large fountain-type geyser located far out in the flats in the north central part of Porcelain Basin. It is the only large pool in that portion of the basin. Eruptions can come from a full pool or at unusual times from a pool as low as six feet below overflow. Blue is usually active. Sometimes erupting as frequently as every 7 minutes but sometimes intervals are measured in hours. In recent years, durations have ranged from 1/2 minute to about 5 minutes. Eruptions range from 15 to 50 feet tall. Large bursts often dome the water well above the pool, with spikes of water bursting through the top. Unfortunately, Blue is often too steamy and definitely too far from the boardwalk to study easily, though the large eruptions, when they occur, are fun to see.
Constant Geyser: [Map]
Constant Geyser has never played constantly but between 1881 and 1920 it erupted regularly and at short intervals, making it the most constantly reliable geyser at Norris. Constant no longer erupts with that kind of frequency and reliability but during the last few years, it has at times still been one of the most reliable geysers at Norris. At times, intervals have been reliable in the 20 to 60 minute range, though gaps of hours have been seen as have short periods of inactivity. Sometimes eruptions occur in series of 2 to 5 eruptions but most periods of activity in the last few year have been characterized by single burst eruptions. When it does have a series eruptions, they usually occur about one to three minutes apart. Cyclic play lasting hours has also been reported at times. No matter what the type of play, the eruptions are always over quickly, usually with durations of 5 to 10 seconds. Heights reach 5 to 30 feet.
What to look for:
During periods of activity, Constant follows a fairly predictable pattern. After the eruption, the water level in the shallow pool drops a few inches. The water level then slowly rises. A few minutes prior to the next eruption, the water over the main vent will pulsate slightly and a few bubbles will be seen rising to the surface. At this point, the eruption is close at hand. This is when you need to watch closely. If you turn away, you may not be able to turn back around in time to see the eruption. With a little watching, you can become adept at anticipating Constant Geyser's eruptions. It may be quick but it is always fun.
Note:
There is a sign on the boardwalk for Little Whirligig Geyser. This sign is in a direct line with Constant Geyser. What looks like a round shallow puddle between the boardwalk and Constant Geyser is actually Little Whirligig Geyser. Little Whirligig has been dormant so long that its vent is covered with silt and is no longer visible.
Dark Cavern Geyser: [Picture] [Map]
Dark Cavern was named for the cave like opening to which the eruption is usually confined. For many years it was a frequent and reliable performer, having both minor and major . Eruptions were often 17 to 20 minutes apart and majors could reach up to 20 feet. When Valentine was active, the eruptions would sometimes show a progression, growing in strength until as the next eruption of Valentine approached.
In 1994, at about the same time that Ledge Geyser reactivated after a 14 year dormancy, Dark Cavern started having powerful mixed phase eruptions. At first these eruptions were quite regularly spaced at about a day. As the Summer progressed though these eruptions became more and more rare, often only occurring during the day or two prior to an eruption of Ledge Geyser, indicating a connection between these two geysers. These mixed phased eruptions varied in duration and strength. Durations were frequently as much as 45 minutes, sometimes with a pause in the middle. The eruption started with water and then changed to steam and back to water and so forth until the end of the eruption. Part way through the eruption, the water would change from clear to murky, possibly indicating the tapping of a different water reservoir. A similar change is seen at Echinus Geyser during its long duration eruptions. At its height, these spectacular eruptions of Dark Cavern could reach 45 feet tall and be heard a mile away. This short lived activity mostly ended in the Fall of 1994.
Now, Dark Cavern frequently only jets to a few feet inside its "cave", though infrequently major eruptions are still reported. Also, at least one steam phase eruption was reported in 1998.
Fireball Geyser: [Map]
Fireball erupts a V shaped plume of water to as much as 25 feet. Sometimes eruptions end with a steam phase. Fireball is located on the flat about 75 feet beyond and to the right of Constant. Whirligig, Constant and Fireball lie along a nearly straight line. As with many geysers in the Porcelain Basin, over short periods ranging from days to weeks, the intervals are often fairly constant but over longer periods, they tend to be quite erratic. Intervals for Fireball have ranged from 5 minutes to hours and durations have ranged from 5 to 20 minutes. During the last few years, intervals have often been in the 3 to 6 hour range. Because of its distance from the boardwalk, it is hard to see the vent when the geyser isn't playing much less get an idea of what it is doing between eruptions.
Incline Geyser: [Picture] [Map]
Incline Geyser was first seen on February 23, 1990. Eruptions were variable in size but the largest were shot toward the hill at 45º in a Daisy-like eruption. The 90+ foot play of the big major eruptions reached over the trail, to Nuphar lake. Smaller eruptions in the 10 to 25 feet range were frequently seen, and at times were all that were seen. Eruptions were cyclic. When active, eruptions frequently occurred at 5 to 35 minute intervals. Active periods lasted for hours but could be interspersed with inactive periods lasting days or weeks. Incline was last reported active in February, 1993.
Ledge Geyser: [Map]
Ledge Geyser is a major geyser. During its last period of activity, late 1993 through 1995, eruptions occurred as frequently as once per week, lasted over 24 hours and reached heights of 125 feet. Unfortunately, Ledge appears to have gone dormant again. Ledge is unique in that while most of its vents exhibit cone type behavior, shooting a steady stream of water, one of its vents shows fountain type behavior, bursting through a pool of water.
During its last period of activity, Ledge erupted in a water-phase lasting about one hour followed by a loud, wet forced steam phase that lasted for another day or so. The main vent erupted a steady stream of water at an angle to a vertical height of about 125 feet and a horizontal distance sometimes approaching 200 feet. Other vents ranged in height from about 20 feet to 40 feet. The fountain type vent during powerful early eruptions reached 60 feet. All in all, a very spectacular show.
This behavior was different from Ledge's previous period of activity. In the early 1970s, Ledge was a predictable Geyser, erupting every 14 hours. Obviously, these eruptions did not last as long as those seen during the last period of activity.
Whirligig Geyser: [Picture] [Map]
Whirligig's eruptions may not be big but what they lack in size are made up for with intriguing sounds. During the last few years, Whirligig has seen both periods of activity and dormancy . When active, intervals range from a few hours to a day or more but in the short term are usually fairly constant and predictable. Eruptions in series are sometimes seen, with the second eruption often occurring 30 to 60 minutes after the first and coming from a not quite full pool. Durations are about 3 to 5 minutes. The bursting play of this fountain-type geyser reaches 5 to 15 feet.
What to look for:
After an eruption, the water level in the shallow pool will drop a few inches only to slowly refill prior to the next eruption. Sometimes, the eruption will start before the pool has completely refilled, other times the pool will overflow for long periods before the eruption. Prior to the eruption, convection currents form over the main vent and bubbles can be seen rising from the main vent and along a string of vents that lead from the main vent in the direction of Constant Geyser. There is usually no indication as to how long it will be until the eruption starts.
Most of the eruption comes from the main vent but the side vents, in particular the "Rooster Tail Vent" play an important part in the eruption. Toward the end of the eruption, the Rooster Tail Vent starts making a chugging sound, similar to a steam locomotive, that can be heard all across Porcelain Basin. This is the highlight of the eruption.
Valentine Geyser: [Picture] [Map]
Valentine Geyser is a cone-type geyser and one of the largest geyser in the Porcelain Basin. A major eruption may reach 75 feet but under 50 feet is more common. Durations, including a steam phase, last between 5 and 25 minutes. In the last few years, only a handful of eruptions have been seen.
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