Colter's Hell
Encyclopedia
Colter's Hell is an area of fumarole
s and hot springs on the Shoshone River
near Cody
in the US state of Wyoming
. The thermal area covers about a square mile at the mouth of the Shoshone's canyon. Its thermal activity has declined ever since its description by mountain man
John Colter, who passed through the region in the winter of 1807-1808. Colter's account of the features on what was then called the Stinkingwater River has subsequently been confused with the much more extensive and powerful geysers in Yellowstone National Park
, which Colter may not have actually visited.
Other early descriptions of Colter's Hell date back to the trapper Joseph Meek
in the year of 1830 as well as to Plenty Coups
, a chief of the Absarokee Indians
, who camped with his tribe at the thermal area in 1840. Meek had seen geyser basin in Yellowstone and described Colter's Hell in similar terms, implying that there were active geysers at his visit. Today the area consists of hot springs and steam vents. Several extinct geyser or hot spring cones stand up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high on the riverbank. Other hot springs were located near the confluence of the north and south forks of the Shoshone, now drowned under the reservoir created by Buffalo Bill Dam
.
The notion that Colter's Hell referred to one of the geyser basins of Yellowstone first appeared in Hiram M. Chittenden
's 1895 book Yellowstone National Park. However, Chittenden went on to describe a "tar spring" on the Stinkingwater as well under the same name. Chittenden's speculation contradicts the earliest published description of the site in Washington Irving
's account of Captain Benjamin L.E. Bonneville
's journals of Bonneville's scouts' visit to the location in 1833, the same year that another of Bonneville's survey parties discovered the geyser basins of Yellowstone along the Firehole River
.
Colter's Hell is just to the north of US 14-16-20 on the west side of Cody. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973.
Fumarole
A fumarole is an opening in a planet's crust, often in the neighborhood of volcanoes, which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, and hydrogen sulfide. The steam is created when superheated water turns to steam as its pressure drops when it emerges from...
s and hot springs on the Shoshone River
Shoshone River
The Shoshone River is long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or through are Cody, Powell, Byron, and Lovell. Near Cody, it...
near Cody
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, from William Cody's part in the creation of the original town. The population was 9,520 at the 2010 census...
in the US state of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The thermal area covers about a square mile at the mouth of the Shoshone's canyon. Its thermal activity has declined ever since its description by mountain man
Mountain man
Mountain men were trappers and explorers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s where they were instrumental in opening up the various Emigrant Trails allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains...
John Colter, who passed through the region in the winter of 1807-1808. Colter's account of the features on what was then called the Stinkingwater River has subsequently been confused with the much more extensive and powerful geysers in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
, which Colter may not have actually visited.
Other early descriptions of Colter's Hell date back to the trapper Joseph Meek
Joseph Meek
Joseph Lafayette "Joe" Meek was a trapper, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A pioneer involved in the fur trade before settling in the Tualatin Valley, Meek would play a prominent role at the Champoeg Meetings of 1843...
in the year of 1830 as well as to Plenty Coups
Plenty Coups
Plenty Coups was a Crow chief and visionary leader. He allied Crow with the whites when the war for the West was being fought, because the Sioux and Cheyenne were the traditional enemies of the Crow...
, a chief of the Absarokee Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, who camped with his tribe at the thermal area in 1840. Meek had seen geyser basin in Yellowstone and described Colter's Hell in similar terms, implying that there were active geysers at his visit. Today the area consists of hot springs and steam vents. Several extinct geyser or hot spring cones stand up to 30 feet (9.1 m) high on the riverbank. Other hot springs were located near the confluence of the north and south forks of the Shoshone, now drowned under the reservoir created by Buffalo Bill Dam
Buffalo Bill Dam
Buffalo Bill Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Shoshone River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The dam is named after the famous old West figure William "Buffalo Bill" Cody who founded the nearby town of Cody and who owned much of the land now covered by the reservoir formed by the dam, which...
.
The notion that Colter's Hell referred to one of the geyser basins of Yellowstone first appeared in Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram Martin Chittenden was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington, were named.-Early Life:...
's 1895 book Yellowstone National Park. However, Chittenden went on to describe a "tar spring" on the Stinkingwater as well under the same name. Chittenden's speculation contradicts the earliest published description of the site in Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
's account of Captain Benjamin L.E. Bonneville
Benjamin Bonneville
Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville was a French-born officer in the United States Army, fur trapper, and explorer in the American West...
's journals of Bonneville's scouts' visit to the location in 1833, the same year that another of Bonneville's survey parties discovered the geyser basins of Yellowstone along the Firehole River
Firehole River
The Firehole River is one of two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park...
.
Colter's Hell is just to the north of US 14-16-20 on the west side of Cody. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973.