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Page 37
Many of you have read of the remarkable geysers of Iceland and the more
remarkable ones in New Zealand, of grand ca�ons in Arizona, of deep
mountain gorges in Colorado, of stupendous falls in Africa, of lofty
mountains covered with snow in Europe, of elevated lakes in South
America, of natural bridges in Virginia; but who has ever conceived of
having all these wonders in one spot of the earth, and forever free as
a great National Park, visited each summer by thousands of native and
foreign travelers?
Travelers report that this corner of the earth seems to be not quite
finished by the great Creator. Through all this region volcanic action
has been exceedingly vigorous. The effect of fire upon the rocks is
plainly visible and widely spread. Whole mountains of volcanic rock
exist. Floods of lava everywhere abound. The last feeble evidence of
this gigantic force is to be seen in the hot springs on Gardiner River
and on many other streams, and in the strange action of the geyser
basins.
There are sixteen important geysers in this section, and innumerable
inferior ones. One geyser is called the "Giantess." It throws a great
mass of water to a small height, surging and splashing in all
directions. One of the most noted geysers is called the "Castle
Geyser," because of its size and general appearance. The opening of
the geyser tube is circular, and about three feet in diameter.
When this geyser is about to spout, a rumbling is heard as of thousands
of tons of stones rolling round and round. Louder and louder grows the
noise and disturbance, till it has thrown out a few tons of water and
obtained apparent relief.
These are warnings to the observers to retreat to a safe distance. In
a few moments the geyser increases in noise, the earth even trembles,
and then a great column of water is hurled into the air.
Another geyser is "Old Faithful," so called because he plays regularly
every sixty-five minutes. The crater is quite low, and contains an
opening which is only the widening of a crack extending across the
whole mound. On the summit are a number of beautiful little pools,
several feet deep, filled with water so clear that a name written in
pencil on a piece of stone and placed at the bottom of the deepest pool
is seen as clearly as if held in the hand. Another remarkable fact is,
that the water does not efface the name, even after months of
submersion.
Old Faithful begins with a few feeble jets. Soon every spasm becomes
more powerful, till with a mighty roar, up comes the water in a great
column. This rises to the height of one hundred and thirty feet for
the space of about five minutes. After the column of water sinks down
there is a discharge of steam.
The "Beehive Geyser" is named after the shape of its cone. The water
and steam issue from the opening in a steady stream, instead of in
successive impulses, as in the two mentioned above. No water falls
back from this geyser, but the whole mass appears to be driven up into
fine spray or steam, which is carried away as cloud, or diffused into
the atmosphere.
The names of some of the other well-known geysers are the "Giant,"
"Grotto," "Soda," "Turban," and "Young Faithful." The tremendous force
with which some of these hot springs even now act, and the
peculiarities of the earth's formation in this section of our country,
may give us some faint idea of the phenomena through which our little
world has passed until it became the dwelling-place of man.
LESSON LV
OUR COUNTRY TO-DAY
_PART I_
The United States is one of the youngest nations of the world.
Civilized men first went to England nearly twenty centuries ago, but
since Columbus discovered America only four centuries have passed.
Each of these four centuries has a character of its own and is quite
unlike the others. The first was the time of exploring, the second of
colonizing, the third of deciding who should rule in America, and the
fourth of growth and development.
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