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| Photo: AFP / Getty Images / Mark Ralston |
Yellowstone National Park claims the highest concentration
of geysers of any place on Earth. Geysers are hot springs with plumbing
challenges that result in eruptions. More than 300 can be found throughout the
park, and none is more famous than Old Faithful. In fact, Old Faithful is the
reason Yellowstone was designated a National Park -- the first in the United
States -- in 1872.
Its name comes from the perceived
regularity of its eruptions, which occur every 55 to 120 minutes and last for
two to five minutes. The spectacular eruptions remain a source of fascination
for the more than 3.5 million people who visit Yellowstone each year. The fact
that the eruptions aren't quite as regular as they might seem -- and that the
mean eruption interval seems to be lengthening -- keeps geologists fascinated,
too.
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