Chapter 27
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.
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 occasional escape of steam until another eruption occurs.
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.
"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.
"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."
THE CA—ONS OF THE COLORADO RIVER.
The length of the Colorado River, from the sources of the Green River, is about two thousand miles.
For five hundred miles of this distance, the river has worn deep cuts or gorges through the soft rock, called caÒons.
The rocky sides of these caÒons form lofty vertical walls, which, in some places, rise to a height of more than a mile above the surface of the water.
The largest and most noted of these vast gorges is the Grand CaÒon, which extends a distance of more than two hundred miles. The height of the walls of this caÒon varies from four thousand to seven thousand feet.
The river, as it runs through it, is from fifty to three hundred feet wide. So swift is the current, that it is almost impossible to float a boat down the stream without having it dashed to pieces against the rocky walls on either side.
The first descent through these caÒons was made in 1867, from a point on Grand River, about thirty miles above its junction with Green River.
Three men were prospecting for gold, and being attacked by Indians and one of their number killed, the other two decided to attempt the descent of the river, rather than retrace their steps through a country where Indians were numerous.
They constructed a raft of a few pieces of drift-wood, and having secured their arms and provisions, commenced their journey down the stream.
A few days afterward, while the raft was descending a cataract, one of the men was drowned and all the provisions were washed overboard.
The third man, hemmed in by the walls of the caÒon, continued the journey alone amid great perils from cataracts, rocks, and whirlpools.
For ten days he pursued, his lonely way, tasting food but twice during the whole time. Once he obtained a few green pods and leaves from bushes growing along the stream, and the second time from some friendly Indians.
At last he succeeded in reaching Callville in safety, after having floated several hundred miles.
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LESSON LXXIII.
pro por'tions, _relations of parts to each other_.
in te'ri or, _the inside_.
al a bas'ter, _a kind of whitish stone_.
chasm, _a deep opening_.
a're a, _any surface, as the floor of a room_.
an'cient, _belonging to past ages_.
un ex am'pled, _without a similar case_.
co los'sal, _of great size_.
feat'ure, _any thing worthy of notice_.
dra'per y, _hangings of any kind_.
o ver awed', _held in a state of fear_.
sur pass'ing, _exceeding others_.
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NATURAL WONDERS OF AMERICA.