Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name. It is also called the most predictable geographical feature on Earth erupting almost every 91 minutes. The geyser, as well as the nearby Old Faithful Inn, is part of the Old Faithful Historic District.
Eruptions can shoot 3,700 to 8,400 US gallons of boiling water to a height of 106 to 185 feet, lasting from 1.5 to 5 minutes. The average height of an eruption is 145 feet. The highest recorded eruption was 185 feet. Intervals between eruptions can range from 45 to 125 minutes, with an average of 90 minutes apart today.
Old Faithful is not the tallest or largest geyser in the park; that title belongs to the less predictable Steamboat Geyser. Its popularity is more likely due to the small eruption window and high frequency.
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ABOVE: Views
of Old Faithful from different angles, taken while waiting for Old Faithful
to erupt.
BELOW: The two RV Gypsies watched Old Faithful erupt. |
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After Old Faithful erupted, the two RV Gypsies went to explore other
parts of the park (that's when they got caught in a sudden, surprise
HAIL storm - use the link at the bottom of this page). They returned
later to Old Faithful just as it was finishing another eruption.
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Below: A Panorama
of Old Faithful (on the right) and other geysers in the Upper Geyser
Basin |
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Below: Chinese Springs |
Below: Blue Star Spring |
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Below: The runoff behind
Chinese Springs and Blue Star Spring |
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Below: Anemone Geyser |
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Due to the pouring
rain, the two RV Gypsies did not get a chance to see the rest of the
geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin. |