Dilemma Geyser | |
---|---|
Name origin | Unofficial |
Location | Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming |
Coordinates | 44°32′07″N110°47′59″W / 44.5351872°N 110.799677°W [1] |
Eruption height | 1 to 2 feet (0.30 to 0.61 m) |
Frequency | occasional |
Dilemma Geyser is a geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. [2] It is part of the Pink Cone complex. Other geysers in this group are Bead Geyser, Box Spring, Labial Geyser, Labial's Satellite Geyser, Narcissus Geyser, Pink Geyser, and Pink Cone Geyser.
Eruptions of Dilemma Geyser are rare. When active, they vary from a few seconds to a few minutes in duration and reach as high as 10 feet (3.0 m) in springtime with 1 to 4 feet (0.30 to 1.22 m) the rest of the year. Intervals (= eruption start to eruption start) are 2 to 10 minutes.
Before 1989, this geyser had tiny eruptions, with a few water drops reaching above grass level. However, the two vents are surrounded by developed runoff channels. The inadequacy of the observed eruption water volumes to produce the channels was the inspiration for the name "Dilemma Geyser". In 1989, more forceful eruptions occurred, with water runoff volumes sufficient to explain the channels. [2]
Dilemma was recorded to be most active in 1996 and sporadically in the 2000s. Its last eruption was June 12th, 2022, following an almost 16 year absence in eruptions. [3]
The RCN[ clarification needed ] location of this geyser has been unintentionally switched with A-0 Geyser, elsewhere in the Lower Geyser Basin.
The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10,000. A study that was completed in 2011 found that a total of 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, 465 of which are active during an average year. These are distributed among nine geyser basins, with a few geysers found in smaller thermal areas throughout the Park. The number of geysers in each geyser basin are as follows: Upper Geyser Basin (410), Midway Geyser Basin (59), Lower Geyser Basin (283), Norris Geyser Basin (193), West Thumb Geyser Basin (84), Gibbon Geyser Basin (24), Lone Star Geyser Basin (21), Shoshone Geyser Basin (107), Heart Lake Geyser Basin (69), other areas (33). Although famous large geysers like Old Faithful are part of the total, most of Yellowstone's geysers are small, erupting to only a foot or two. The hydrothermal system that supplies the geysers with hot water sits within an ancient active caldera. Many of the thermal features in Yellowstone build up sinter, geyserite, or travertine deposits around and within them.
Castle Geyser is a cone geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. It is noted for the particularly large geyserite sinter deposits, which form its cone. These deposits have been likened in appearance to a castle.
A-0 Geyser is a geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
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Bead Geyser is a cone-type geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
Box Spring is a geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
Labial Geyser is a fountain-type geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It is part of the Pink Cone Group. Other geysers in this groups are Labial's Satellite Geyser, Bead Geyser, Box Spring, Dilemma Geyser, Narcissus Geyser, Pink Geyser, and Pink Cone Geyser.
Narcissus Geyser is a geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Narcissus Geyser is part of the Pink Cone Group. Other geysers in this group are Bead Geyser, Box Spring, Dilemma Geyser, Labial Geyser, Labial's Satellite Geyser, Pink Geyser, and Pink Cone Geyser.
Pink Geyser is a fountain-type geyser in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
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