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    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone
    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone
    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone
    Ebook209 pages45 minutes

    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone

    By Dr. N. Genean Dunn and Thomas D. Dunn

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Yellowstone National Park contains over half the world s active geysers, with more than 700 within its 3,472 square miles. The most famous geyser is Old Faithful, named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition. In 1871, the US Geological and Geographical Survey, led by Dr. F.V. Hayden, reached the Upper Geyser Basin. In just over a day, the explorers witnessed eruptions of many geysers still seen today, including Giantess, Beehive, Grotto, Castle, and Old Faithful. Yellowstone became the first National Park in 1872. Since then, visitors have come in increasing numbers to witness the unique geysers, numerous wildlife, and spectacular scenery.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 30, 2014
    ISBN9781439645949
    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone
    Author

    Dr. N. Genean Dunn

    Dr. N. Genean Dunn and Thomas D. Dunn are longtime Yellowstone visitors, observing, photographing, and collecting rare books and postcards of the geysers of Yellowstone for the last 30 years. During that time, they have amassed a personal collection of photographs depicting common and rare geyser eruptions and thermal features. For the last 16 years, they have edited a Yellowstone geyser newsletter. In this book, the historical images of geyser basins, going back over 130 years, are drawn from their private collection, the US Geological Society archives, and the National Park Service archives, along with contributions from other private collections.

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    • 4/5
      When you purchase one of the Images of America books you know what you are going to get. Usually, it is a labor of love by a fan, aficionado, sometimes a real expert on a particular subject. There will be a lot of pictures and varying degrees of real information. In the past, my experience with these books has varied based on my interest in the area and the knowledge of the writer. Worst case scenarios are those where the writer/compiler is more fan than expert. Again, if I have enough interest in the area, the book might be partially saved by the images. (That, after all, is the name of the series.)Ultimately, I have learned I better care only about those images. If there is good information associated with it, then that is lagniappe.In this book on the geyser basins of Yellowstone there are excellent images. The Dunn’s have drawn from a wealth of archives (including their own pictures) to show how different the area looked and, perhaps more startlingly, the access visitors had in the past. The cover photo shows a gentleman standing on the Giant Geyser platform. With the current restrictions in the park, it seems incongruous. And there are many pictures where we are taken aback by this unrestricted access. But this picture also provides insight into what we will experience throughout the book. This image provides real sense for the size of Giant’s cone – a sense we do not really get when we stand on the boardwalks. And that is where these pictures really shine. They provide different perspectives on the features (Fan and Mortar, and Riverside from opposite sides of the river from where they are now viewed, people standing next to features so you can see the true size, looking directly into various vents).But here’s the one that really caught me by surprise. The book shows what the features looked like without the boardwalks. My entire experience has (of course) been with the current configuration of boardwalks. This causes arbitrary delineations that we just accept as normal. That is, until you see a picture of Excelsior, or Beehive, or Grand, or Daisy and their surrounding area with no constraints. Our current world arbitrarily divides features into right and left of the boardwalk. Lines have been drawn. These pictures remind us that these features were a part of nature that just grew where it decided to grow – with no divisions.The images are very good.But there is also the lagniappe. The Dunn’s are quite knowledgeable about the area, they have access to good information, and they are explorers who know the area. Yes, they are fans, but they are fans who know what they are talking about.If you are just being introduced to the fascinating world of Yellowstone geysers, this isn’t necessarily the place to start. You will gain history, but not insight into how they work or what you should be looking for. But if you are exploring deeper, then this is an excellent book.And if you just like seeing the way people used to travel in the past – how they experienced the wonders of nature that were being discovered in America – then you will enjoy this glimpse into travelling our first National Park.
    • 5/5
      Must read for one interested in the history of this most famous of American Parks

    Book preview

    Geyser Basins of Yellowstone - Dr. N. Genean Dunn

    book.

    INTRODUCTION

    The earliest history of the geyser basins is written not in books, but in the rocks. The Yellowstone plateau was the site of some of largest volcanic eruptions in North America. Eruptions occurred about 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago, and 640,000 years ago. The last eruption ejected 1,000 cubic kilometers of material and formed the Yellowstone Caldera. The heat for these eruptions began in a hot spot in the earth’s mantle and is the source of heat for the geyser basins today.

    Well before the famous Washburn Expedition of 1870 left from Helena, Montana, Native Americans visited the Yellowstone plateau and probably lived in the area of the park as early as 11,000 years ago. Of course, there is no written record of these early inhabitants, but they left evidence of their presence, such as arrowhead-like points and chips of obsidian, at more than 1,900 sites. When white men first entered the Rocky Mountain area, they found that many Great Plains tribes traveled through this mountainous area. They saw evidence that the Kiowa, Crow, Blackfoot, Shoshone, Bannock, Nez Perce, and many other tribes visited geysers, conducted ceremonies, hunted, gathered plants and minerals, and engaged in trade in the area.

    From the late 1700s through the early 1800s, a few hardy explorers ventured into the vast Yellowstone region. Lewis and Clark traveled within 150 miles of the park’s northern boundary. However, they did not explore the rumors of volcanic phenomena up the tributaries of the Missouri River such as the Yellow Stone. John Colter left the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1806 and traveled throughout the region, but it is not clear if he saw the geyser basins of the park. A trapper named Osborne Russell left a written description of geyser and hot spring features from his trips in the late 1830s. After the fur trappers, the prospectors came in search of gold. One of these men was Walter W. DeLacy, who described some of the hot springs and geysers in the Yellowstone region.

    However, not until 1869 did explorers set out for Yellowstone with the specific purpose of exploring its wonders. Charles W. Cook, David E. Folsom, and William Peterson entered the Yellowstone region during that year. They saw Tower Fall, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mud Volcano area, Lower Geyser Basin, and Midway Geyser Basin before leaving the area of the park. Word of their travels and the wonders they saw spread through Montana and led to the next and much larger expedition, known as the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition of 1870. This expedition named many important features of the park, including Mount Washburn, Old Faithful, Castle, Giant, and Beehive Geysers.

    The next year, another group of explorers entered Yellowstone. This trip in 1871 was the first expedition led by Dr. Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden, who was in charge of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. He and his party explored, mapped, and described the wonders they saw. Two members of the party, artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson, had to pay their own ways to be part of the expedition. Some of Jackson’s historic photographs and Moran’s paintings are included and described in this book. The idea of a national park evolved from these first expeditions. The US House of Representatives debated the Act to Set Apart a Certain Tract of Land Near the Head-waters of the Yellowstone River as a Public Park on December 18, 1871. After it passed the House, the US Senate approved the act on January 22, 1872, and Pres. Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law on March 1, 1872. In the pages that follow, information about the major Yellowstone geyser basins includes quotes from early explorers, employees, and visitors to the park. Photographs are presented that show some of the features explorers first saw, named, and made famous.

    Following the government surveys in 1871, 1872, and 1878, visitors began to arrive. As the number of visitors interested in seeing the thermal features increased, the need for better transportation, roads, and hotels around the park became apparent. A road and hotel system evolved to support this visitor business. This book provides historical photographs that depict the thermal features in the major geyser basins, the series of hotels, and the means of travel through Yellowstone. In the early days, visitors were able to explore the basins with few restrictions. Walking around or over geysers was common. Standing near them and waiting for an eruption was an experience many wanted. As time went by, the need to better protect the thermal features, and the visitors, became clear.

    Photographs in this book show many of the historic hotels around the geyser basins from the late 1870s to the present. The Old Faithful Inn and Lake Hotel stand today as a link to the old days of stagecoaches, dusty travel, and exploration. The location and changing sizes of these buildings indicate the changing needs to transport and accommodate the visitors who had traveled significant distances to see the geyser basins and other Yellowstone features. Stagecoaches served visitors to the park until 1917, and beginning on August 1, 1915, motorized travel was allowed in the park. In these early days, the railroads, and later the National Park Service (NPS), promoted the park to encourage visitor attendance. In the years following the advent of the automobile, NPS policy began to evolve. Promotion was less of a need. Improved roads away from geyser basins and means to define and limit visitor activity around thermal features were needed for the protection of both.

    Some of the photographs in this book show the damage that occurred in the early days when visitors had complete access to the park features. Some old views show visitor behavior that is no longer permitted. Locations of some trails and roads are no longer where they were back in the early years. Many of the photographs taken then cannot be re-created today because the locations are not accessible for safety reasons and for protection of the rare features.

    Yellowstone is a remarkable place that is visited by people from around the world. By 1992, approximately three million visitors traveled annually to Wonderland, as Yellowstone has often been called. It is a wonder that these numbers can be accommodated, given that most folks come between June and September. This book celebrates Yellowstone’s rich geyser history through historic photographs. The people who came to explore and survey the park, the people who protected the park, and the visitors

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