[Geysers] Geyserite at Smithsonian

[Graham Meech]

A message from Graham Meech   meechg at erols.com  1/22/05

I took a look at the cone on display in the Smithsonian (National Museum of
Natural History minerals exhibit) a few years ago.  The emotional reaction I
had seeing it was anger that someone would take this cone away from
Yellowstone denying us the opportunity of seeing it as a true geyser.  How
many geyser cones have wonderful beading and 18 vents packed into a 4 square
foot space?  It made me want to see it erupt, but we can never see that now.

On the plus side, the beading may well have been broken off by the early
visitors so we at least can see the cone in-tact but not the geyser.  The
display is nice in the exhibit, it is set out away from the walls so you can
see it from nearly all angles.  There is also a small piece of wood with
beading on it too in the same case.

The cone on exhibit was labeled as item # 35559.  It has 18 vents per my
notes, the highest vent has a 10" formation of beading with two smaller
vents close to it.  There is another cluster of 5 vents nearby.  The main
vent has an opening of 1" x 3" with 9 other vents close to it.  In its
cabinet the beading is a cream color.

The size of the whole feature is about 34" x 40", the vents cover about 23"
x 26", and it stands 20" tall (about a 1 1/2' tall).  I suspect this is the
same cone Lee saw based on his description even though it is only 20" high,
the exhibit cabinet is elevated which may account for the discrepancy.  If
it is actually a different cone, then I really want to see the bigger one!  

When I look at the cone I just don't get the feeling that it came from
Vixen.  All the cones vents and the rectangular layout just don't seem to
fit with the small circular vent we see today at Vixen - but I don't really
have a good reference point to figure out what the vent would look like
after the cone was cut off.

I made an enquiry about where it had come from at the time and was told that
it had come from the Gibbon Geyser Basin, not Norris Geyser Basin.  I was
also told that there was another geyser cone in storage and the suggestion
was that it was a smaller cone based on the storage location.  I am looking
for my email exchanges on this topic but haven't located them yet.

I would be interested in going to find out more as I live just outside DC.
If anyone has prior experience getting access to Smithsonian storage items
that might help me make progress.

Graham.

-----Original Message-----
From: geysers-bounces at wwc.edu [mailto:geysers-bounces at wwc.edu] On Behalf Of
Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2005 10:55 AM
To: geyser observation reports
Cc: geysers at wwc.edu
Subject: Re: [Geysers] Geyserite at Smithsonian

Yes, I remember the note below that Scott forwards from the Smithsonian.

At 1 1/2 feet high, I am certain that I have never seen this cone. The one
I saw on display at the Museum of Natural History back in 1978 was much
larger---at least four feet tall and it had many ornate and beautiful
rosette-like ventholes in it. IT is the geyser cone that I have always
associated with Vixen Geyser and not this one.

This cone is a mystery to me. An 1881 accession date would mean that the
park superintendent of the day was P.W. Norris. I've never heard of "Major
Stevenson." Norris had no such person on his staff and the U.S. Army was
not yet in the park. As well, 1881 was ten years after James Stevenson
explored Yellowstone with the Hayden surveys. So I have no idea who this
Major Stevenson was. I

f the cone was truly from Mammoth, then it would have to be travertine and
not geyserite.

This is one of those mysteries that someone in the Washington, D.C. area
needs to look into. Looking at the Smithsonian's Yellowstone items is one
of many things I've "had on my list" for years, but who knows whether I'll
ever get around to it.

Lee Whittlesey
Park Historian