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At the End of a Beautiful Day
in Yellowstone
Old Faithful is still faithful! A camera lowered into the vent of this geyser showed a small 4 to 4 1/2 inch constriction in the main geyser vent at about 22 feet. At about 45 feet down, a large chamber about the size of a large car was found. There the camera revealed "seething liquid tornado."
A study of an old hot spring in New Zealand by a team showed the walls of the spring to be a smooth wall punctured by numerous small openings. It is assumed water enters into the main spring chamber via these small openings.
The average interval of Old Faithful this year was 88 minutes. However eruptions can occur anywhere from 30 to 120 minutes apart. The rough formula for predicting this geyser's eruptions is to observe and time the previous eruption. For example, if the previous eruption is short (1 1/2 - 2 minutes), then the next eruption will be about 45 minutes away plus or minus 10 minutes. If the previous eruption is long (about 4 1/2 minutes), then the next eruption will be about 90 minutes away plus or minus 10 minutes.
This year was a relative poor year for geyser observations. However that doesn't mean there wasn't lots of action. Some 400 geysers in Yellowstone make it the world's largest geyser location. Preservation of this area is important. Another geyser area in the U.S. once called the "Ninth largest geyser area in the world," Beowowe, Nevada, has now been totally destroyed by geothermal well drilling. This only demonstrates what happens when areas are not protected.
For a look inside Old Faithful by camera (text only)
Live Camera View of Old Faithful Geyser
Wayne's Yellowstone MP3 music compositions
Page Modified November 19, 1999