er Basin is in some respects more pleasing than the
Norris, although the desolation is perhaps even more apparent. People
who have seen districts in which salt is made out of brine extracted
from wells, state that the appearance in the Lower Geyser Basin is very
similar to what is seen around manufacturing districts of that
character. This basin is in the valley of the Firehole River, a
strangely named stream, of a very beautiful character. In the basin
itself the branches of the Firehole unite, and with the Gibbon River
form one of the three sources of the Missouri, called the Madison, after
the President of that name. The Fountain Geyser is the largest in the
neighborhood, and is one of the best in the park. It is very regular in
its eruptions, and seldom fails to perform on time for the benefit of
the onlooker. It sends an immense volume of water into the air, and
resembles a fountain very closely. Its basin is very interesting, and
gives a good example of the singular deposits left by a geyser.

When the fountain is busy throwing out its volumes of water, the
appearance is very peculiar. Little notice is given of an eruption,
which takes place suddenly, although at stated intervals. All at once
the watcher is rewarded for his patience by having the stillness changed
into activity of the most boisterous character. The water is hurled
upwards in a mass of frothing, boiling and foaming crystals. The actual
height varies, but frequently goes as far as thirty feet. In a moment
the wall of water becomes compact, oblong and irregular. Crystal effects
are produced, varying according to the time of day and the amount of
light, but always delightful and peculiar.

Close at hand are the Mammoth Paint Pots, in the center of the Firehole
Geyser. We can explain the appearance of the Paint Pot or Mud Bath much
more easily than we can account for the phenomenon. It is well named,
because it resembles a succession of paint pots of enormous size more
than anything else that the imagination can liken it to. The basin
measures forty by sixty feet, with a mud boundary three or four feet
high on three sides of it. The contents of the basin have kept
scientists wondering for years. The substance is white, looking very
much like ordinary paint, but, unlike paint, it is constantly in motion,
and the agitation is so persistent that an idea is given that the Paint
Pot's basin is the bed of a crater. The continual bubbling and vibration
is ve