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The Hot Springs Of The Yellowstone

The Hot Springs Of The Yellowstone image
Parent Issue
Day
26
Month
January
Year
1872
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The followiog is froni Prof. Ilayden's ortiole on tho Yellowstono, in tho Fcbruary numuur of Hcribner's. This artielo is the soooud in a serios on "Tho Wonüers of the Wost : " Froni the river our p;ith led up tho steep sides oí the hill for about ono milo, wluii wo came suddenly and unexpectedly in full view of the springs. This wonder alono, our whole i:ii].:;h: . ■-. sorpassedall the descriptiuns whiuii liad been giVen by former travelera. Indeed, tho Langford party Sftw nothing of this. Before uh roso a high mountain, looking !y Hko a f rozen cascade. It is formod by the ealcareous gediment of tho liot .springs. precipítate1! from the water as it now= down the steep declivities of tli.' nii;uni dn side. The upper portion is about one thonsand feet above the watera of Gardiner's Biver. The surface covered witta tiie deposita r.omprises from. tbree to four sqnaro miles. The springs m ,v in active operation pover an aroa of about one square milc ie rost ot' the tomtory is ■ ly tho rena of springs wliicü uve long since to ilow. We pitohed our camp opon a giMssyt.il of the principal jroup of active springs. Justin the ruar f us were a series of reservoirs or bathing-pools, risiug ono abovo the other, seini-circular in forui, with most eloganty sealloped niargins composed of calcareous matter, tho sediment presipitated irom the waters of the spring. The hill, which is about two hundred feet high, íes. 'uts the appeaxance of water eon;ealed by trost as it quickly flows down a roeky declivity. The deposit is as white as snow, exeept when tinged hare and Jiore with iron or sulphur. Small streams low down the sides of the snowy mountain, ín channels lined with oxide of iron coloivd with the ïnot delicate tints of red. üthers present the most exquisito shades of yellow, from ;t deep bright sul)hur to :i dainty croam-coIoF, In tho pring and in the little channels is a iiuarial like the finest Cashmere wool, with ts slendor libres ñoating in the water, viirating with tho moveraent of tho curront, and tinged with vari s of ■od and yellow, us bright a ■ . our aniline dyes. These delicate wool-lik ■ massos aro ündouDtedly plants, wtiicn uro ubuudant in all tho hot springs ot' tho West, and familiar to the inicroseopist as diatoms. Upon a kind of terrace covoring an area of two hundrod yards in length and fifteeu in width aro sevoral large springs in a constant stato of agitation, but with a somewhat 1 nviv temperatura tU. in tho boÜing point. The hottest spring is 162 ; o. I 12, 1 "■, and ÍGQ, respcctively. Souie of tliem give off' an odor of Bulphurretted hydrogen quito perceptibly. A aushows tho water tb contain sulphurlydrogen, lime, soda, alumina, and a small iimount of magnesia. It is beautifully clcar, and slightly alkaline to tho tasto. The water aftcr rising from the spring basius llüws down tho odes of the declivity, step by step, from on. r sorvoir to tho other, at each one of them losing a portion of its heat, until it 1 oool iis spring-wat r. Within i!rod feet of its souicc out large party oamped for two dnys by the sido of the littlo stream formed by the aggregated waters of these hotspnngs, and we found tho water most excellent for drinking as well ■ as cooking purposes. It was perfcetly olear and tastele -. and hannlKa in its effect s. During ourstay here all the inenibert of our party , uB well as theeoldiers comprising our escort, enjoyed the luxur i liathing in these most elegantly carved natural bathing-pools, and it was easy to select, from the hundreds of reservoirs, water of every variety of temperatura. Theso natural basins vary somewhat in size, but mauy of theni aro about four by six'eet in diameter, and one to four feet in depth. With a foresight worthy of commendation, two mon havo y preempted 320 acres oi' l;md eoverinji most of the surfaoe occupied by tho active springs, with tue expeotation that upon the completion of the Northern Pacilic liailroad this will hecome ft famous place of resort for invalide and pleasureseekers. Indeed, uo future tourist, in traveling over .the fat 'West, will think of neglecting this mis! wonderful of the physical phenomena of that most interestiug región. The luvel or torrace upon whieh the principal active springs are located is about midway up the sides of the mountain covered with the sediment. íátiíl farthcr up are tho old ruins of what must havo been at somo period ot' the pust eren more active springs than ;it prescut knowu. The sides of the mountain for two or threo hundrod feet in height aro covored with a thick crust of tho calcareous deposit, whioh was originally oíulimented with th ing all ovor the B llgpoolsbelow. But atmosphorio agencies, which act readily on the time, have obliterated all their dolicato beauty. Chiinneys par'ially broken down are scatti rea about here and there, with apertures difering in iizo frorn two in saos to two feot in diameter. Long, rounded ridgea aro alao quite numeroas, withfissures extondinr tin: cutiré length, from whicli the boiling water isaued forth and flowed over the sides. Thus the sediment was continually procipitated in thin oval I -lytTS, so that a Bection of thi chimneys preeer.ts the appearaóèe ot' layera of hay in a st.tek, or the thatched cabin of a pcasant. Somo of these chimneys were jndoubtedly formed by geyaers, now exr :inct ; othtrs by what may be calied spouting-springs, as those which are in a constant stato of violent ebullil ;hrowing tho water up two to four feot - i phenomenon intermediato between a joiling-epring and a true geyser. Tho water is foroed np through an orifl the earth by hydrostatio and ivorflowing, precipitates the sediment uouiidit; and thus, in time it builds up i mound varying in height according to :he force of t .is pressvrro. One of loaea i? rery remarkable, surpassing uny ibserved in any other portion of tho West. From its peculiar form wo ftlmost nvohintarily named it tho " Liberty C;ip." 't is entirely composed of carbonate of i flexible oap-like feiyers, with a i at the base of !'■''■ ien feet, and a of about forty feet. Il is complet ey closed over at tho snminit. This is robably an extinct gej l wás tho nost povrerful ono of thin group. Tho Grand Duke is going to test all urrts of Annriean recroation while in this 'oimtry, and bas made a'rangements to ro flshing witl B , wheu ho returns from his buffalo kunt.

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Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus