[Geysers] Yellowstone Report July 4 (Stephens)

[Lynn Stephens]

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My report on the F&M event cycle the evening of 7/3 should have also given credit to Tom Magnera for calling the first information about the event cycle.  Both MaryBeth and I were in the trailer and the radio reception was scratchy with the exception of Kitt's relays and then Ben's calls.

 

I was told that someone asked about the F&M eruption on the morning of July 4 and the information wasn't in the logbook.  The information was entered into the logbook at 5:50 on 7/4.  The logbook is in "summer mode" with two pages per day.  The left hand page (as the book is flat, or even number page) has preprinted lines for Artemisia, Aurum, Grotto, Grotto Fountain, Lion, LIttle Cub, Sawmill, and West Triplet.  The remainder of the page is blank so we can add names and times for other geysers as needed.  The right hand page (or odd number page) is divided such that the top 60% of the page had columns and lines for Old Faithful information.  Below the Old Faithful section is a section for 'Predicted & Select Other Geysers" which is organized into two sections--the "predicted" geysers (Castle, Daisy, Fountain, Grand, Great Fountain, and Riverside) and the "other" geysers:  a line for Beehive, a line for Fan & Mortar, a line for Giant, Giant Hot periods, and Giantess, a line for Lone Star and a line for Plume.  At 5:50 on 7/4 I entered the notation that on the Fan & Mortar line "erupted overnight 7/3-7/4" on the page for both 7/3 and 7/4.  Placement of the marker on Fan & Mortar varies after each eruption.  For example, the last three placements have been--on the "long" side of the big block of sinter, on the north end of the big block of sinter, and the current placement is at the south end of the big block of sinter.

 

After some office time on 7/4, I spent a few hours in the Pink Cone Group.  Intervals--Narcissus was 0916 (d <=5 min), missed the next one, then Scott spotted the steam cloud 1552ie, for a presumed cycle (short duration to short duration) of about 6h36m.  I obtained an interval on Pink of 5h47m.  I saw one eruption of Labial, but didn't get an interval.

 

I moved over the Fountain Group at noon.  A herd of bison was spread out all over the meadow north of Fountain, some of them around Gentian Pool.  The herd caused quite a traffic jam.  While we were waiting for Fountain Maureen Edgerton and I watched a sleek robin hopping all around the area with lunch in its mouth.  It would periodically drop the bug and peck at it as if were going to eat it, then pick it up.

 

Spasm had an eruption about two hours before Fountain finally started, per a visitor report, and another eruption that lasted about 15 minutes, which started about 50 minutes before Fountain finally erupted.  When Stephen Eide arrived at Fountain, Jet was not yet erupting, presumably still turned off by an eruption of Super Frying Pan.  Jet resumed eruptions 1h17m before Fountain started, with intervals of 7 to 10 mintues.  Because Jet was not under suppression by Super Frying Pan, Jet erupted every 1-3 minutes during Fountain's eruption.

 

Fountain started at 1322 (d=34).  Morning's Thief had three large eruptions at 1323, 1325, and 1330.

 

Ten minutes after Fountain started the sky started flashing and grumbling at us.  Twenty-two minutes into Fountain's eruption the hail started.  It stung, even through three layers of clothing on my arms and shoulders, and was particularly painful when it hit my bare toes.  At 1350 there was a flash of light and an instant boom of thunder that sent the bison herd stampeding and cleared the boardwalk of Stephen, Maureen, myself, and the two visitors who had waited four hours for Fountain's eruption.  I lagged behind as we headed toward the parking lot to get the end of Fountain's eruption.  

 

As I was returning from other activities, the next eruption of Fountain was ie at 2006.

 

Someone told me the Visitor Center was predicting Great Fountain for 4:20 p.m. +/- 2 hours, so I moved over to Great Fountain after Fountain.  (I didn't go out to Great Fountain on Friday so the last information I had was Scott's report of 0619 on 7/3 and his report that it was completely finished by 0550 on 7/4.)  When I arrived it was still raining, so I radioed to Maureen and Steve that it was either in a crash or we had several hours to wait.

 

Thankfully, the water was at crash level and came into overflow just a few minutes later.  Several gazers arrived at Great Fountain, asking for Mike Keller who said he was headed there.  But Mike apparently drove through ahead of when I arrived, and didn't stay.  Great Fountain erupted at 1537, p=0, of=80.  

 

Scott had mentioned that he had seen a wolf on the hillside above Botryoidal in the morning (7/4).  While we were watching Great Fountain's eruption, I noticed what looked like a section of a bison leg bone on the rocks lining Great Fountain's runoff channel toward White Dome.  The bone was not from an old carcass because there were still little bits of "flesh" attached to the bone.  I know the bone wasn't there when I did roadside garbage pickup on Thursday.  

 

As I left Great Fountain, the Hot Lake sandhill cranes were feeding on the south side of Firehole Lake Drive near Hot Lake.

 

Lynn Stephens

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