| Identifier |
1978_365_mammothHot.jpg |
| Title |
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park |
| Alternate Title |
Mammoth Hot Spring - La Minerva - Yellowstone park |
| Creator |
Tissandier, Albert 1839-1906 |
| Subject |
National parks & reserves--Yellowstone National Park--1880-1890; Yellowstone National Park--1880-1890; Minerva Terrace (Wyo.)--1880-1890; Springs--Wyoming--Minerva Terrace--1880-1890; Landscape drawings--1880-1890 |
| Published Location |
Reproduced in the exhibition catalog, Albert Tissandier : Drawings of nature and industry in the United States, 1885, by Mary F. Francey ([Salt Lake City, UT] : Utah Museum of Fine Arts, 2001), p. 49. |
| Short Essay |
Before Yellowstone was designated a national park, Mammoth Hot Springs was a popular destination for tourists and mountain men who visited the territory. Like several European hot springs, its waters were thought to promote healing. Many of the springs became dry, succumbing to lack of rain and erosion and leaving caverns of siliceous rock. One of these is the subject of this drawing. The first hotel, a one-story log structure, was built in 1871 to accommodate the increasingly large number of visitors. Some tourists who stayed there created problems by abusing the natural resources of the park, a problem that was resolved when an Indian attack force the hotel to close. The new National Hotel, built in 1883, was more luxurious consisting of several wings that included parlors for men and women, heating, electricity and a dining hall. Also called the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, it was here that Tissandier stayed during his visit to Yellowstone. Although the Boston Tour Company Guidebook stated that 6,000 tourists visited Yellowstone annually during the late 1880's, Tissandier was surprised by few visitors to the park while he was there. He wrote: "Despite the universal reputation of Yellowstone Park, I was surprised at the small number of tourists who visit it each year. At last count, only two thousand visitors are attracted to these marvels each season." About the drawing of one of the numerous boiling springs that had dried, Tissandier's journal entry noted that: "Very near to Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel you can descend into the interior of one of these springs that has been dry for some time. The narrow entrance is only about two meters in diameter, and with the help of two ladders it is possible to descend to the depth of about twenty meters above an orifice where one can continue on by attaching a rope around one's waist. At a depth of about fifty meters in these dark chasms the suffocating sulfurous odors compel one to stop." |
| Publisher |
Utah Museum of Fine Arts |
| Contributors |
Mary F. Francey |
| Date |
1885 |
| Type |
Image |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Source |
Albert Tissandier: Drawings of Nature and Industry in the United States |
| Language |
fre |
| Rights Management |
Digital image c2001 Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah |
| Source Physical Dimensions |
34.29 cm High x 40.64 cm Wide |
| Source Characteristics |
Graphite on paper |
| Light Source |
Kaiser Softlite ProVision 6x55W flourescent 5400K daylight |
| Archival Resolution |
TIFF: 5015 x 4242 pixels |
| Display Resolution |
JPEG: 900 x 780 pixels |
| Bit Depth |
36-bit color |
| Scanning Device |
Leica S1 Pro scanning camera; Hasselblad CFi 50mm F/4 lens; f/11 |
| Exhibit Catalog |
ISBN: 0-9657215-0-7; Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2001094211 |
| Setname |
uu_umfa_at |
| ID |
415836 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6bk1cds/415836 |
