[Geysers] Which geyser was named first--Fountain or Great Fountain?

[Lynn Stephens]

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR THE PERSONAL USE OF THE READERS OF THIS LISTSERV AND IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, INCLUDING PUBLICATION IN THE SPUT. Technically, Fountain received its present name before Great Fountain received its present name. Fountain was named in 1871 by the Hayden Survey.  The Hayden Survey applied the name "Architectural Fountain" to today's Great Fountain in 1871.  In 1872 Holmes, a member of the 1872 Hayden Survey but not a member of the 1871 Hayden Survey, supplied the name Great Fountain.  Whittlesey (1988, Wonderland Nomenclature) reports Holmes said he used that name because Great Fountain was "the only geyser in the Lower Basin that possessed dignity and grandeur comparable to geysers of the Upper Basin." In evaluating Holmes' statement, remember that the first eruption of morning was probably not observed until 1899, and Morning did not receive a name other than "New Fountain" and "Dewey Geyser" (which thankfully never lasted), until Marler supplied the name Morning in 1947-1948. Excelsior's various names were Hayden Survey, 1871--The Caldron and Great Spring; Jones, 1873 Cliff Spring; 1878 Hayden Survey Cliff Caldron; also during the 1870's Devil's Half Acre and Hayden's Spring.  Although the first eruptions of "Great Blue Spring" apparently occurred in 1878, it wasn't until the activity in 1881 that Norris named it Excelsior. Lynn Stephens 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: </geyser-list/attachments/20130508/3eecc34e/attachment.html>