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.