[Geysers] Shoe Spring and Sand Spring

[Lee_Whittlesey at nps.gov]

Re: Gordon's names question. I seem to recall that Shoe Spring was a name
given by Walter Weed (Hague Survey geologist) in the 1880s. In my research
during the 1970s and 1980s, I could find no other name that ever applied to
it, so I placed Shoe Spring in Wonderland Nomenclature.

The name "Sand Spring" should NOT be used under any circumstances. We
already have three other features named Sand Spring---at Norris, Heart
Lake, and east of Mammoth.

Below is the text from Wonderland Nomenclature for Shoe Spring, a name that
has priority over "Key Spring" or any other name for this spring in the
Grand Group.

Lee Whittlesey
Park Historian

SHOE SPRING---A hot spring of the Grand Group of Upper Geyser Basin,
located a short distance southeast of Economic Geyser Crater and just east
of the present boardwalk.
    Heretofore unknown, this place name was given in 1888 by geologist
Walter Weed of the USGS to his spring #47 of the Grand Group.  Weed gave
the name because the spring was shaped like a shoe.
      In 1878, Dr. A.C. Peale had noted that #47 was "4½ by 6½ feet" and
"shaped like a bath-tub.







                                                                                                                                    
                      Gordon Bower                                                                                                  
                      <siegmund at mosquit        To:       geyser observation reports <geysers at wwc.edu>                               
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                      Sent by:                 Subject:  Re: [Geysers] "Topsoil Spring"                                             
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                      06/26/2005 07:22                                                                                              
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Just for the sake of completeness, making sure previous reports about this
feature don't get overlooked because of name differences:

I learned the name of this feature as "Sand Spring" (I think from Cathy
Nist in 1990, but I heard it called that by others in 1992 and 1993 too)
and managed never to hear of "Topsoil Spring" until today. Of course it's
pretty easy to go years without having this little feature come up in
conversation. I thought there had been reports of it boiling or bubbling
up a few inches in the early 90s too, but there's nothing in the SPUT
index under either name.

Both names obviously have essentially the same derivation (one for what
it is and one for how it looks). It looks like Topsoil should get the nod,
because it's not been used in other basins like Sand has, and apparently
is the older name too. But do make a note that some observations of this
feature are going to turn up under the other name too.

Some readers will recall "Key Spring" just north of here turning out to
have a forgotten name "Shoe Spring" - is there any chance that whatever
old reference provided that name has anything to say about this feature
too?

GRB


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