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 occasional
escape of steam until another eruption occurs.
[Illustration]
Just across the river and close to the margin, a small conical mound is
observed, about three feet high, and five feet in diameter at the base.
No one would suspect it to be an active geyser. But in 1871, a column of
water entirely filling 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 grayish-white 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.
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