| Note: | - no time noted - Fluctuations were noticed until the morning of October 3 when it was discovered that Colloidal Pool had become a mud geyser. The usual pattern of duration and interval was reversed as the duration was fifteen to twenty minutes and the interval only a few seconds. The crater drained completely between eruptions and, almost immediately, water reappeared. Agitation gradually increased and after about ten minutes of preliminary surging, explosive bursts followed for at least five minutes. The maximum height reached was conservatively estimated at thirty feet and the diameter of the water and mud column was estimated at five to eight feet. The activity was extremely violent and appeared to gain in power as the day progressed. The pattern of activity on the next day was somewhat different-- the intervals were then two to five minutes while the duration of play averaged eighteen minutes. Two separate craters were then erupting and the violence of the north crater eruptions steadily increased
throughout the day. The pool eroded rapidly to the northeast and a lateral collapse of six feet was measured in the afternoon of October 4.
A visit to Norris on the afternoon of the following day disclosed that Colloidal Pool was again a pool. The geyser phase had ended and the pool had resumed its murky gray appearance. Other features in the vicinity had gained back their water and it seemed that the sudden rise, and equally rapid decline, of Colloidal “Geyser” would have no further effect on the thermal activity of the basin. But up to the date of this writing (October 12), the after effects of this violent change are still noticeable. [Note article contains history of Colloidal with footnotes as if intended for publication - so far not located mab] |
