Mertie West stands at the edge of Emerald Pool, Yellowstone National Park, 1942

Item Overview

Title

Mertie West stands at the edge of Emerald Pool, Yellowstone National Park, 1942

Photographer

West, H. H. (Henry Hebard), 1872-1958

Date Created

June 23, 1942

Date

1942-06-23

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

West (H. H.) Collection

Notes

Description

Distant photograph of Mertie West standing along the edge of Emerald Spring in the Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park. The spring sits in the distance at center. Mertie West stands in front of it, left-of-center, with her back to the camera. Steam rises from the spring and wafts towards the left. In the foreground at right, a signpost for the spring reads, "EMERALD POOL THE TEMPERATURE OF THIS POOL IS LOW ENOUGH TO PERMIT THE GROWTH OF A YELLOW TYPE OF HOT WATER ALGAE ON THE SIDES OF THE BOWL. THE NATURAL BLUE COLOR OF THE NEARLY PURE WATER BLENDS WITH THE YELLOW BACKGROUND TO PRODUCE THE BEAUTIFUL EMERALD-GREEN COLOR. THE TIMBERS IN THE BOTTOM WERE THROWN IN BY TOURISTS MANY YEARS AGO AND FLOATED ON THE SURFACE UNTIL THEY BECAME WATER-LOGGED AND SANK. THEY HAVE SINCE BECOME CEMENTED TO THE BOTTOM BY DEPOSITS OF GEYSERITE." A pine-covered hill- or mountainside rises on an upward across the background from left to right. A streak of white stretches across the image on an upward angle from the lower right corner towards the left.

Caption

Text from negative sleeve: 1588. Yellowstone trip 1942. Tuesday, June 23, 1942. 1. 2. Two pictures of Mertie West at Morning Glory pool. 3. A group on the bridge leading from the road to the Excelsior Geyser basin. That is hot water flowing down the rock behind them. 4. Mertie West at Emerald Pool. Here is where a friend of ours broke thru and burned herself badly and was in the hospital for weeks. She was a member of Asbury Church. 4 films. [Note: In all instances of the year date, 1942, the last digit (2) is handwritten over a typed 3.]

Physical Description

Extent

1 photographic negative

Medium

b&w nitrate negative

Keywords

Genre

cellulose nitrate film
black-and-white photographs

Names

West, Mertie Whitaker, 1875-1972

Location

Yellowstone National Park

Longitude

44.461154

Latitude

-110.855064

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Norris Geyser Basin (Wyo.)
Springs--Wyoming--Yellowstone National Park
Sightseers--Wyoming--Yellowstone National Park
Signs (Notices)