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OLD FAITHFUL'S THROAT

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In the early 1990s researchers lowered a video camera into Old Faithful’s vent. The camera was equipped with a lighting system
and monitors to record temperatures.

. At the surface, the geyser's vent measures 2 by 3.5 feet (.6 by 1 m). Along its length, the walls of the conduit are covered with rough deposits of silica.

. About 22 feet (6.7 m) underground, the plumbing system of Old Faithful shrinks to only a few inches wide.

. At approximately 24 feet (7.3 m), the camera revealed a small waterfall of relatively cool water that is thought to be groundwater finding its way into the conduit.

. A large cavern, estimated to be the size of a small automobile, lies between 35 to 45 feet (7-11 m) inside Old Faithful.

. The camera couldn't be lowered much farther because it encountered a slot filled with boiling, wildly churning water at the lower end of the cavern. The researchers reported that the action resembled a "liquid tornado."

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