Within the vast extent of territory belonging to the United States, there are many wonderful natural curiosities which attract visitors from all parts of the world. A short description of some of the principal attractions is here given, with the hope that many who read this lesson, may at some time visit a part or all that are noticed. a GEYSERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. The Yellowstone Park is a tract of country fifty-five by sixty-five miles in extent, lying mainly in the northwest corner of the Territory of Wyoming, but including a narrow belt in southern Montana. It contains nearly thirty-six hundred square miles, and is nearly three times as large as the State of Rhode Island. No equal extent of country on the globe comprises such a union of grand and wonderful scenery. Numerous hot springs, steam jets, and extinct geyser cones exist in the Yellowstone basin. Just beyond the western rim of the basin, lies the grand geyser region of Fire-Hole River. Scattered along both banks of this stream are boiling springs from two to twelve feet across, all in active operation. One of the most noted geysers of this district is "Old Faithful." It stands on a mound thirty feet high, the crater rising some six feet higher still. The eruptions take place about once an hour, and continue fifteen or twenty minutes, the column of water shooting upward with terrific force, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet. The great mass of water falls directly back into the basin, flowing over the edges. and down the sides in large streams. When the action ceases, the water recedes from sight, and nothing is heard but an occa ing the crater shot from it, which by actual measurement was found to be two hundred and nineteen. feet high. Not more than a hundred yards from the river, there is a large oval aperture eighteen feet wide, and twenty-five feet long. The sides are covered with a grayishwhite deposit which is distinctly visible at a depth of a hundred feet below the surface. This geyser is known as the "Giantess," and a visitor in describing it states that "no water could be discovered on the first approach, but it could be distinctly heard gurgling and boiling at a great distance below. Suddenly it began to rise, spluttering and sending out huge volumes of steam, causing a general scattering of our company. "When within about forty feet of the surface, it became stationary, and we returned to look upon it. All at once it rose with incredible rapidity, the hot water bursting from the opening with terrific force, rising in a column the full size of this immense aperture to the height of sixty feet. 66 Through, and out of the top of this mass, five or six lesser jets or round columns of water, varying in size from six to fifteen inches in diameter, were projected to the marvelous height of two hundred and fifty feet." |