Good roads have been constructed throughout the park connecting all points of interest, and in many instances these roads have been built at an enormous expense. The United States Government has already expended upward of one million dollars in road-making and bridge-building. There are now over sixty bridges and five hundred culverts to supplement the five hundred miles of roads within the park proper and the forest reserves.
We enter the park from the north and then proceed to visit a few of the most interesting places. Our tour embraces Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Firehole Geyser Basins, Yellowstone Lake, and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone River.
Leaving the Northern Pacific train at Gardiner, the entrance station to the park, we take a coach for Mammoth Hot Springs, five miles distant, and ride along the foaming, dashing Gardiner River through a canyon bearing the same name. Portions of the way unfold bold, picturesque scenery, giving a fitting introduction to the marvels and greater scenic beauty that are in store for us. We cross the river four times on steel bridges within one mile.
Just after crossing the last bridge we see an immense stream of hot water issuing from an opening in the rocks and discharging directly into the Gardiner River. This stream, the Boiling River, we are told, comes through subterranean channels from the famous Mammoth Hot Springs a mile and a half away.
Arriving at the springs, we find here a large, well-equipped hotel, where are also the administration head-quarters of the park. After resting a short time, we visit the world-renowned Hot Springs.
The Mammoth Hot Springs rise from the summit of a hill of limestone formation three hundred feet high, built by the deposit of mineral matter held in solution by the hot water that issues from them. The terraces, containing upward of two hundred acres, are delicately tinted in beautiful shades of red, yellow, orange, brown, and purple. Those over which the water is still flowing present the most attractive appearance, the colors being fresh and rich; the others have dull, ashen colors.
Calcareous deposits are rapidly building up these terraces in various beautiful forms, the edges of many being supported by delicate columns, some of which resemble organ pipes. Different names are given to the terraces according to form or fancy, as Pulpit Terrace, Jupiter Terrace, Narrow Gauge Terrace, Minerva Terrace, etc.
The overhanging bowls built up by these deposits are exquisite specimens of Nature's work and are filled with water of wonderful transparency; while the variety of forms of these receptacles and their charming colors fascinate the beholder.
Scattered over the formation in all directions are numberless curiosities, such as the Devil's Kitchen, Cupid's Cave, and the Stygian Cave. In many of these caves there is an accumulation of carbonic-acid gas sufficient to destroy animal life. This is especially true of the latter cave.
We now journey by coach to Norris Geyser Basin. On the route we pass by Obsidian Cliff, sometimes called Obsidian Mountain, which is an immense mass of black volcanic glass. This mineral was used by the Indians for making arrow-heads and spear-heads.