Lobby > Exhibits > Hot Water Treasures > Types of Thermal Features > Geysers > Cone vs Fountain Geysers GeysersAGING A GEYSER
Hot springs and geysers are always changing due to many factors, making it difficult to calculate the age of a single hydrothermal feature. Basing a geyser’s age on the size of its cone is inaccurate.
Sinter usually forms at a rate of less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) per
100 years, but there are places in Yellowstone where the deposition
rate is much greater. Also, a geyser may become dormant for a number
of years and stop depositing sinter altogether or, conversely, experience
a period of very frequent eruptions with exceptionally heavy deposition.
The best that can be said is that a geyser with a large cone is
probably quite old.   |
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