Day 3 of our Wyoming Tour takes us into Yellowstone Park where we visit Old Faithful. Named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, Old Faithful was the first geyser in the park to be named. While Old Faithful is not the tallest or largest geyser in the park; those titles belong to the less predictable Steamboat Geyser, it is the most famous.
With more than 1,000,000 eruptions since being discovered, it remains very predictable erupting every 44 minutes to two hours since the year 2000. Eruptions can shoot 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water to a height of 106 to 185 feet lasting from 11⁄2 to 5 minutes.
Little known fact – in the early days of the park, Old Faithful was often used as a laundry. Garments placed in the crater are ejected thoroughly washed when the eruption takes place. Gen. Sheridan’s men, in 1882, found that linen and cotton fabrics were uninjured by the action of the water, but woolen clothes were torn to shreds.
