Monday, June 15, 2009

My World: Old Faithful

One of the most famous landmarks in Yellowstone National Park is the Old Faithful geyser. Typically we do not visit Old Faithful anymore when we go to Yellowstone, but we decided to go and get some pics this year since all of our old pics were on film.
Old Faithful was named by members of the Washburn Expedition back in 1870. As the expedition was traveling down the Firehole River they came into the Upper Geyser Basin and Old Faithful was the first geyser that they saw.
The Washburn Expedition named the geyser Old Faithful because of the regularity of its eruptions which occur at intervals of 35 to 120 minutes. Old Faithful was the first geyser named in Yellowstone.
Old Faithful is not the largest erupting geyser in Yellowstone and it is not even the most regularly erupting geyser either. However it is the largest geyser that erupts on a regular basis which is the main reason for its popularity. The steam and water that erupt from Old Faithful reaches heights of 90 to 184 feet.
There are other geysers and vents around Old Faithful. Geysers like the Beehive Geyser, pictured above, mat not erupt as impressively as Old Faithful but are still interesting.
A cornerstone of the Old Faithful are is the Old Faithful Inn. Built in 1903-1904 it is the largest hotel mad out of logs in the world. When it opened in 1904 it was the height of luxury with electric lights, a steam heating system and a massive 85 foot tall, 500 ton, stone fireplace in the lobby. The Inn has survived an earthquake, which rocked the park in 1958, as well as the infamous North Fork Fire in 1988. Even though the hotel has been updated, remodeled and expanded over the year it is still a prime example of rustic resort architecture. In 1987 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

21 comments:

Chris said...

Yellowstone is a wonder that I definitively have to visit one day. Superb series, I love the cone picture!
Wonderful.

2sweetnsaxy said...

Awesome shots! I've never been to Yellowstone but would like to get there one day. Thanks for the preview. Cool! :-)

Martha Z said...

Nice shots of one of my favorite parks. It's always interesting to see place through the eyes of others.

Luiz Ramos said...

Beautiful Yellowstone Park shots. Thanks for share.
Luiz Ramos

Guy D said...

I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone, great pics.



Cheers
Guy
Regina In Pictures

Canarybird said...

I'm another who has never been to Yellowstone but hope to see it one day! That's an amazing hotel being all made of logs, and that it survived an earthquake as well. My son in law on the west coast built a three story cabin from beach logs and we always worried that an earthquake would send it all tumbling down! But I guess the weight must keep it stable. Regards from Spain.

James said...

Great pictures. I was there in 1980 or 81 but I don't have any pictures. I'd love to go back and take some.

Unknown said...

Your post brings back memories form a roadtrip we took last summer. We stayed at Old Faithful Inn, sat out on the terrace, and watched O.F. do her thing. It is pretty amazing.

Elisabeth's bright side said...

Fantastic pictures! I've seen a lot of documentaries from Yellowstone, but I've never been there. It seems a great place. I'm most impressed of the log hotel, beeing from Norway I'm used to a lot of log houses in all sizes and ages, but this is unbelievably big.

Janie said...

Nice pics of Old Faithful. We go to Yellowstone every year, and we don't go by Old Faithful every time, but I still like to see it every few years.

Marja said...

What a magic place Love the beehive and what an impressive Inn

SandyCarlson said...

Thanks for sharing these. I would love to visit there someday.

Marites said...

Really impressive building and i definitely want to see that geyser someday:) Hm...i wonder if there are ghosts in the inn since it's soooo old.

My world is here

Sally in WA said...

Definitely on my bucket list!

Mary Elizabeth said...

Wow, great photos.
Thanks for sharing.
Now and Then

Adrienne Zwart said...

Your photos from Yellowstone are wonderful! I've never been out there and hope to go see some of these sights myself someday.

Paul said...

cool pics and thanks for the info.

Oman said...

Really interesting work of mother nature. I have first seen that in National Geo but your post enable me to see it up-close. Thanks for sharing.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Somewhere I'd love to photograph instead I will enjoy yours virtually of the wonders of nature.

Arija said...

Beautiful captures of Old Faithful. I don't know it personlly but have witnesses the magic of the big Geysir in Iceland, next to the opal pool.

Unknown said...

Very cool photos !!!

I hope to visit Yellowstone, before I leave the US...