[Geysers] West of Norris comments

[TSBryan at aol.com]

In receipt of the December 2010 issue of The SPUT, I wish to make a few  
comments (not corrections, mind you) about Jake's article about the thermal 
area  "west of Elk Park" aka "northwest of Norris Geyser Basin." I have 
visited that  area four times, most recently in 2004.
 
Name of the area: Jake is correct in that the area really does need a more  
proper name. For two things, it is neither west of Elk Park (decidedly  
north-northwest of there) nor west of Norris G. B. (still a bit north of west  
from there). Since the stream that drains the thermal area is a tributary to 
the  creek that drains the Nymph Lake area, perhaps Nymph could be used in 
a name?  But better, to me, is that like Jake, I too saw fresh bear tracks 
on one of my  trips in there. So "Beartrack Springs"?
 
Jake interestingly makes no mention of the pool in his "South Group" that  
is/was at the far southwest corner of that area, roughly 300 feet southwest 
of  Jake's point "B". On all of my visits, that was by far the best (really, 
the  only) deep, clear, blue pool in the area. Is it no longer there, or 
was it just  missed?
 
Of the three geysers that I know of, one was in the "South Group", one in  
the "White Wall Group", and one the big geyser in the narrow canyon/defile  
between White Wall and the explosion craters. Different observers, (notably  
here, Paperiello versus myself) might well have seen different features as  
geysers, because I feel one of mine is Jake's feature #2, which I saw as  
intermittent but never taller than about 3 feet. A second geyser was adjacent 
to  the creek in the upper part of the White Wall area.
 
As for the big geyser, I could swear it was roughly 150 feet downstream and 
 across the creek from Jake's #6, rising from a much steeper hillside. I'm 
really  quite certain of this. When last seen, it barely steamed.
 
By missing the "West Group", Jake didn't miss very much.
 
The big explosions, by the way, occurred in 1987.
 
Finally, on one of my visits to the area, we could hear a loud booming from 
 quite a distance. It turned out to be a mud pot playing back within a 
cavernous  opening in the "North Group", by my once-again-perhaps-very-hazy 
recollection at  the southwest end of Jake's feature #10.
 
Anyhow, just a few points of info.
 
Scott Bryan
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