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.
Distant photograph of tourists standing on a bridge and posing in front the runoff from Excelsior Geyser at Yellowstone National Park. In the foreground at left, a signpost stands. It reads, "[D]UMP REFUSE HERE." Behind it, a man approaches the bridge with his back to the camera. The bridge stretches from the lower left corner on a slight angle towards the right, crossing over Firehole River. Its supports are constructed of cut stone and it rails are made of lumber. A group of 5 people stand on the bridge at center. Four stand in a row facing the camera to have their picture taken. The fifth stands in front of them and to the left. Their back is to camera as they take a picture. They stand in front of the runoff from Excelsior Geyser which is behind them and to the left, on the far side of the bridge. The runoff flows into Firehole River which flows from the left, under the bridge and towards the lower right corner. Steam rises from the geyser in the distance at right. Trees line the hillsides in the far distance.
Photograph of H. H. West's tour group touring Upper Geyser Basin and standing near geysers while facing towards Old Faithful Inn. The tour group stands in the near distance at center with their backs to the camera. It is comprised of about a couple dozen tourists. Upper Geyser Basin sprawls ahead of them with steam venting from some of the geysers at right. Through the steam and in the distance, Old Faithful Inn stands, left-of-center, facing slightly right.
Photograph of Gibbon Falls in Yellowstone National Park. The falls are viewed from above the canyon through which the Gibbon River flows. The river flows towards the camera from the distance at center. The falls cascade in the mid-ground. Canyon walls stands on either side of the falls and river. Pines stand on the canyon walls. On the near wall at right, some downed trees lie on the cliffside. Bare rock faces are more prominent on the left. Mountains rise in the far distance.
Photograph looking across the Norris Geyser Basin as Mertie West and other visitors explore the basin. The Norris Geyser Basin is viewed at an elevated angle with the flat basin stretching into the distance. Mertie West and a few others gather around a low geyser cone that sits in the near distance at left. It barely emits steam. Mertie stands far to the right of it, facing left. A man appears to approach it from right-center. A woman, facing the camera, stands behind it, left-of-center. Another woman stands further back and to the right and looks on from the distance. A larger geyser emits steam in the distance. It sits at center. Steam wafts to the right, low off the geyser. A group of about 5 people walk towards it at center; all have their backs to the camera. Silhouetted hills and mountains rise in the far distance.
Photograph of 2 bears climbing fencing that surrounds a trash can in the middle of a cabin encampment near Old Faithful. The trunk of a tree lines the left edge of the image in the foreground and the eave of a roof hangs from the upper right corner. Wooden fencing that surrounds the trash can extends from behind the tree at left and towards the center of the image. One bear stands propped up on the fencing. The bear stands with its hind legs on fence rungs and holds onto a corner post with its front paws. A trash can sits elevated in the enclosure beneath him. Another bear stands to the right of the fencing as he approaches the enclosure. A cabin stands behind them at right.
Photograph of a bear sniffing a piece of trash on the ground as he wanders between the housekeeping cabins near Old Faithful. A cabin lines the right frame in the foreground. Beyond it and to the left, the bear stands over a piece of trash, sniffing at it. To the left of the bear, an elevated, fenced platform contains a trash can. Behind the trash can at left, another cabin stands in partial view. A woman stands in front of a car behind the trash can and to the right of the cabin at left. Pine trees line the space between the rows of cabins which extend into the distance.
A blurry photograph of a couple of elk resting beneath pine trees, spotted while H. H. and Mertie West traveled between the Mammoth Hot Springs Area to Madison Junction. A flat landscape dotted by pine trees stretches across the foreground and into the distance. In the near distance at center, a pine tree stands and beneath it sits an elk. Another elk sits beneath a pine behind and to the left of the aforementioned pine. A stream flows behind the pines at left.
Photograph of the Riverside Geyser erupting into the Firehole River in the near distance. Firehole River flows away from the camera, weaving through the center of the image. It is viewed from a bridge crossing over the river. The river's width extends across the foreground and narrows into the distance. About halfway down the river, on the right, steam billows from Riverside Geyser. Steam wafts from another geyser on the bank at left, further in the distance. Tree-covered hillsides stretch across the background.
