Castle Geyser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castle Geyser is a geyser in Yellowstone National Park.
The geyser has a 10-12 hour eruption cycle. The geyser erupts hot water for about 20 minutes to a height of 90 feet (27 meters) before changing to a noisy steam phase for 30-40 minutes.[2]
It is also noted for the particularly large sinter deposits that form its cone. These have been likened in appearance to a castle. This appearance led Lieutenant G.C. Doane to name it Castle Geyser in 1870.[3] The geyser is located in the Upper Geyser Basin a short walk from Old Faithful Geyser.
The sinter cone for Castle Geyser was dated to around 1022 using carbon-14 dating. This date is much younger than the presumed age of 5000 to 15000 years. A 3-D laser scan done of the cone shows evidence that this geyser has gone through four to five distinct stages to reach its current configuration.[4]
In November 2002, an earthquake in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska caused Castle Geyser, as well as other geysers in Yellowstone, to decrease in eruption frequency.[5] The affected geysers have since returned to their previous pattern.
 Castle Geyser eruption |
[edit] References
- ^ Langford, Nathaniel Pitt. Diary of the Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in 1870.
- ^ Castle Geyser. Old Faithful Area Tour. Retrieved on 2005-09-15.
- ^ Bauer, Clyde Max (1947). Yellowstone Geysers. Yellowstone Park, Wyoming: Haynes. ASIN B0007E44C4.
- ^ Foley, Duncan. (2004). "How Does Your Geyser Grow? 3-D Laser Scanning and Preliminary 14C Dating of Castle Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming". Geological Society of America - Rocky Mountain (56th Annual) and Cordilleran (100th Annual) Joint Meeting (May 3–5, 2004), 15
- ^ Quake in Alaska Changed Yellowstone Geysers. University of Utah News and Relations. Retrieved on 2005-09-15.
[edit] External links
- Castle Geyser movie. Retrieved on September 16, 2005.
- Castle Geyser is at coordinates Coordinates:
