[Geysers] Some Norris observations, 8/21/12

[Bill Johnson]

Sorry I'm late getting these in; we had no net access to speak of while
traveling, and have been dealing with a balky provider since we got home.
A few things seen at Norris on the 21st:

Constant Geyser was active, with times 1500, 1519, 1555 (maybe, more on
that later), 1614.  All but 1555 were strong, single bursts, with no second
burst either immediately or a few minutes later, unlike some (most?)
previous seasons.  The 1555 event was odd, sort of a "failed eruption" that
had unusually vigorous splashing from the (I think) west side of the pool
that never got more than 5 feet high.  I'd never seen that from Constant
before.

Whirligig Geyser was active, seen by us at 1625, and we talked later to
visitors who saw it some time after 1700 (they didn't record times).  The
"rooster-tail" side vent was erupting clear water this time, rather than
the muddy water we saw last year.  The ranger said Whirligig has been
erupting a couple of times a day.

The feature immediately above Ledge Geyser, mentioned in some reports
earlier this summer, was vigorously and constantly active, so much so that
I wondered if it was pre-play for an actual Ledge eruption -- but no.  The
ranger said it's been doing this all summer, but Ledge has not erupted.

Not much else in Porcelain Basin.  Fireball was quiet almost the whole time
we watched, although it did start erupting weakly around 1700.  I get the
little sputs on the floor of Porcelain Basin confused, but if I understand
them correctly, Pinto Geyser was active while we were there (roughly
1430-1700), while Arsenic and Africa were not.

Vixen Geyser was active in the Back Basin, but we only saw a single
eruption, at 1858.  The interval before this one was over 90 minutes, as we
got there about 1715 and waited it out.  There was activity in the Pearls
but we didn't go down there to get details, being preoccupied with Vixen.

Finally, Steamboat was maybe 50% concerted, with "average" strength
compared to what we saw on previous trips.  Nothing too exciting there.

Again, sorry this is late, but I hope people will still find it useful.
-- Bill Johnson
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