Almost everyone that goes to Yellowstone watches at least one eruption of Old Faithful geyser. Old Faithful is worth seeing but there are many other geysers that are just as interesting and some are even more spectacular than Old Faithful. In my opinion, the most spectacular of the predicted geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful Area) is Grand Geyser.

If you are interested in seeing some of the geysers, you should first visit the Old Faithful visitor center. At the visitor center you can check the posted predictions for Old Faithful and the other predicted geysers. While you are there, you should also talk to the park rangers about what may be erupting soon and get their recommendations for what to see.

If you want to see even more geysers or just want to learn more about geysers then look at the book The Geysers Of Yellowstone by T. Scott Bryan. It is available in the park visitor centers. This book gives the characteristics of hundreds of geysers and information on what to look for before an eruption. The book is especially helpful if you want to see some of the geysers that are not predicted at the visitor center. Predictions are posted for only seven of the hundreds of geysers in the park.

Another source of information about geysers are the "Geyser Gazers". Geyser Gazers are people that study the geysers. Most are park visitors but a few are park rangers and park employees. Geyser Gazers keep track of many of the geysers. Many of the smaller geysers can be predicted, though their predictions are not posted at the visitor center, and many of the other geysers give indications when they are about to erupt. Many Geyser Gazers are adept at understanding the eruption indicators of many of the geysers. If they tell you that a geyser is about to erupt, ask them some questions and try to determine if they are knowledgeable. You may get to see something that most visitors miss.

One word of warning. When watching a geyser, try, if possible, to be on the upwind side. Otherwise, you may only see a big steam cloud.

The geysers predicted at the Old Faithful visitor center, along with some of their characteristics, are listed below. All are worth seeing but, I repeat, make an effort to see Grand geyser.

To see a particular geyser, you should show up at the beginning of the predicted range and wait. The two geysers that USUALLY require the least waiting are Old Faithful and Daisy.

Grand Geyser

Grand usually erupts every 8-12 hours to 150-180 feet and lasts about 12 minutes. It will often stop after about 9 minutes and then restart after a minute or so. This second "burst" and any subsequent bursts are among the tallest if not the tallest of the eruption. Be sure to wait and see if there is a second burst.

Daisy Geyser

Daisy usually erupts every 90-110 to 60-75 feet and lasts 3-4 minutes. It is very predictable. I like the view from the side away from Old Faithful the best.

Riverside Geyser

Riverside usually erupts every 5.5-7 hours to 75 feet. The water phase of the eruption lasts about 20 minutes and is followed by a 30 minute steam phase.

Castle Geyser

Castle usually erupts every 9-11 hours to 60-90 feet. The twenty minute water phase of a major eruption is followed by a 40 minute steam phase. The first 15 minutes of the steam phase is relatively forceful and fairly loud so try to be close for this part. Castle often has minor eruptions which last only a few minutes. When it has a minor eruption, Castle becomes unpredictable until it has its next major eruption.

Great Fountain Geyser

Great Fountain is located 8 miles north of Old Faithful on Firehole Lake Drive. It usually erupts every 10 hours in a series of distinct bursts that occur over a period of an hour. Early bursts can be over 200 feet but 80-100 feet is more common The first 10 minutes are the most spectacular.

Old Faithful Geyser

Old Faithful erupts every 35-120 minutes for 1.5-5 minutes to a height of 90-184 feet. The rangers say that 90% of their predictions are within +/- 10 minutes. The time to the next eruption is predicted using the duration of the current eruption. The longer the eruption lasts, the longer the interval until the next eruption. For instance, a 2 minute eruption results in an interval of about 50 minutes whereas a 4.5 minute eruption results in an interval of about 85 minutes. It is not possible to predict more than one eruption in advance. Old Faithful is deceiving. The benches around the geyser are over 300 feet from the geyser but with nothing to judge the distance by, I rarely realize just how big the geyser is until I get further away. I like the view from Geyser Hill. As with any geyser, watch the wind direction or you may only see steam.

Comments and Questions are Welcome.

This site is hosted by Geocities. Get your own Free Homepage.