[Geysers] Shoshone Report, 7/29/10

[Tara Cross]

This report covers observations at Shoshone Geyser Basin,
July 29, 2010.  I apologize for the extreme lateness, but perhaps it will be useful to people who would like to visit Shoshone in August and September.


Trailside is active. 
I saw two eruptions waiting a few minutes, but did not get a closed
interval.

It appears that Double is still not having major
eruptions.  There was a vent just west of
Little Giant that was acting as a small geyser to an inch or two.  The sinter sheet above the vent is broken,
and pulses up and down with the eruption.

Soap Kettle is still mostly dry.  Shield and Gourd seemed to be having their
normal frequent activity.  When we
arrived, they had taken a long enough break for Five Crater to be having
eruptions before being drowned again. 
The cool intermittent spring uphill from Five Crater may not be as
active this year.  We saw bubbles coming
up but there was bacteria growing around the edge of its crater.

Minute Man had several solitary eruptions before starting a
series in the late morning.  It had
another series in the late afternoon for an approximate series interval of 5
hours.

The Orion Group was dead, as usual.  In the Fall Creek/Western Group, Pectin was
erupting constantly to about a foot from a low pool level.  “Not Pectin” appeared to be dormant.

In the South Group, Diverted was active.  There was a new blowout near Outbreak.

The highlight of Shoshone was Velvet Spring.  Though I thought overall most of the
eruptions were weaker than what I saw last year, it still had several strong
ones.  Intervals were still right around
12 minutes, as seen previously. 
Durations were around 2m15s. 
There were occasional “minor” eruptions, consisting of one or two bursts
from the east vent.  Intervals after
minors varied from 4-7 minutes.

The Hydra is active. 
We will have more information from electronic data soon.  Unfortunately, it did not erupt for us.

Fissure and Snail are dormant.  Yellow Sponge was splashing, but its
formation was mostly dry.

Small Geyser is active. 
Troll was splashing normally.  Mangled
Crater was active, but not putting out as much water as it used to.  The new vent below Mangled Crater was active
again this year, having eruptions to a few inches every 4-5 minutes.

Bead Geyser is still active. 
I obtained intervals of 2h22m and 2h16m, and durations of 90-100
seconds.  I did not closely observe the
connection with nearby Terracette Spring, but its water level did drop way down
with each eruption of Bead.

Knobby appeared to be dormant.  It was in steady overflow with a rich growth
of dark orange bacteria in its runoff channel. 
Knobby’s runoff also drowned Slosh.

Frill Spring, my geyser nemesis, is apparently having “false
start” behavior quite frequently this year. 
We watched it roil and surge for about 30 minutes, including several
bursts to 3-4 feet, but to no avail. 
Then it did it again a few hours later. 
The electronic monitor suggests that this is happening all the time,
with occasional real eruptions occurring every week or so in short series.

Lion was active, with a double interval of1h52m and closed
intervals of 52m, 56m, 61m, and 58m.

I did not look closely at the areas north of the North
Group.
--Tara Crossfanandmortar at hotmail.com


 		 	   		  
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