The following counts of geysers are based primarily on the T. Scott Bryan's The Geysers of Yellowstone, third edition. (Any errors are my own.) They use his definition of geyser which excludes perpetual spouters. Geysers are classified as either "active", "dormant", or "extinct". Classification as dormant is somewhat arbitrary and includes those inactive for two years or more and those which may currently behave as spouters instead of geysers. Geysers which do not display uninduced activity are included under "extinct". Be aware that geyser populations are more uncertain than these figures may imply.
basin | active | dormant | extinct | total |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gibbon Geyser Basin | 18 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
Heart Lake Geyser Basin | 35 | 12 | 0 | 47 |
Lower Geyser Basin | 102 | 22 | 0 | 124 |
Lone Star Geyser Basin | 10 | 2 | 0 | 12 |
Midway Geyser Basin | 17 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
Norris Geyser Basin | 55 | 21 | 3 | 79 |
Shoshone Geyser Basin | 42 | 8 | 0 | 50 |
Upper Geyser Basin | 181 | 84 | 3 | 268 |
West Thumb Geyser Basin | 28 | 10 | 0 | 38 |
other geysers | 25 | 3 | 1 | 29 |
Total | 513 | 164 | 7 | 684 |
Bryan, T. Scott, The Geysers of Yellowstone, third ed., 1995, University Press of Colorado (Niwot, CO).
GOSA, GOSA, [24 June 2000], online [http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/1407].
Paperiello, Rocco, "Black Sand Basin History," 1998, GOSA, online [http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/1407].
© 2001 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 21 February 2001.
Return to Home. Return to Geyser Resources.