| Comments: | From pg. 47: "Before the [Hebgen Lake] earthquake a wooden bridge existed along the western side of this 20 x 20-foot spring and it was possible to look down 30 feet into clear blue waters. About every 17 minutes the calm surface of Sapphire would break into a 'boiling' activity caused by rising gas bubbles. This 'eruption' would last several minutes, sometimes roiling up to 5 feet. Following the earthquake Sapphire was in a state of constant activity playing 5 to 12 feet high. This condition lasted almost 3 weeks. Early on the morning of September 5 the Old Faithful area rolled under one of the several strong aftershocks of the main earthquake. This shock induced a gigantic nighttime eruption from Sapphire which, although unwitnessed, left much evidence in the way of strewn sinter fragments and wash marks about the spring's circumference. On the morning of September 5 the water level in Sapphire was down about 10 feet." Waton's full thesis can be found at https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/553960/AZU_TD_BOX243_E9791_1961_23.pdf?sequence=1 |