<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv=Content-Type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18999"></HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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"?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>By missing the "West Group", Jake didn't miss very much.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The big explosions, by the way, occurred in 1987.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anyhow, just a few points of info.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Scott Bryan</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>