[Geysers] Steam Phases

[Pat Snyder]

Having just seen a Lone Star major for the first time yesterday, it  
gets my vote for one of the best steam phases around. I've not seen  
most of the geysers on Tara and Jeff's list, but Lone Star is well  
worth the bike ride or walk.

The roaring steam, plus the little water vents sparkling at the base,  
is an incredible show. It reminded me of a video I saw of  Porkchop  
before it exploded. Lone Star's steam just swirled around in a loud,  
tornado-like whorl at the center; it almost looked a bit frightening,  
all that pressure.

Unfortunately, I did not hear any "canon shots" though.

Here's a photo of the steam phase, which seemed to be most of the  
eruption.
Pat Snyder

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On Jun 1, 2007, at 7:00 AM, James Graber wrote:

> A very interesting topic.  I will share my recollections, but the  
> main thing that surprised me about your list was the low ranking  
> you gave to Lone Star.
> It was described somewhere, I think in the Haines guides of that  
> era, as souding "like a civil war battlefield", and at least three  
> times in my life, back in the forties, fifties and sixties, I have  
> heard it do that.  It really did sound like repeated cannon shots,  
> and I was almost afraid the ground would erupt like a land mine.  I  
> definitely wondered how it could keep doing that without rupturing  
> its plumbing.  That said, I did hear it once last summer, and the  
> noise was nothing like that.  So maybe it did eventually rupture  
> its plumbing.  (In fact, I was going to ask if anyone had heard it  
> do those cannon shots recently.  As I recall, my father took us out  
> there the first time, back when you could still drive on the road,  
> specifically to hear the cannon shots.)
>
> I definitely agree with your top ranking for Steamboat.  I have  
> only seen it once, also back in the sixties,  One of my most vivid  
> memories of this eruption, which had a fairly low (for Steamboat)  
> water phase was early in the eruption, near the start of the main  
> eruption.  George Marler was yelling in my ear "This is it! This is  
> it!" from about two feet away or less.  I ccould barely hear him  
> above the roar, and this was back when I was much less deaf than I  
> am now.
>
> I saw Ledge at  least five or six times in the middle to late  
> sixties and a few more times since then.  I remember the water, but  
> not the steam phase, so it did not make much of an impresssion on me.
>
> I also know I saw Dark Cavern (and Bear Den) once or twice back  
> then, but I can barely remember them and do not remember any really  
> impressive noises, although one of them did sort of growl.  I  
> thought it was Bear Den.  On the other hand, I do remember when  
> Black Growler was at least moderately loud.
>
> I'm very intersted to hear what other folks think about Lone Star,  
> both recently and long ago.
>
> Best,
> Jim Graber
>