Colter's Hell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Colter's Hell
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 Location in Wyoming
Location in the United States
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| Location | Park County, Wyoming, USA |
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| Nearest city | Cody, Wyoming |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001937 |
| Added to NRHP | August 14, 1973 |
Colter's Hell is a unique area in Wyoming, USA. It has hot springs and steam vents. These are called fumaroles. It is located near Cody on the Shoshone River. The thermal area covers about one square mile.
The heat activity here has decreased over time. It was first described by a famous explorer. His name was John Colter. He was a "mountain man." Colter explored this region in the winter of 1807–1808. He had left the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Contents
Discovering Colter's Hell
John Colter's description of this area was very important. He called the river the Stinkingwater River back then. People later confused Colter's account. They thought he was talking about the much larger geysers in Yellowstone National Park. However, Colter might not have even visited Yellowstone.
Early Descriptions
Other explorers also wrote about Colter's Hell. Joseph Meek, a trapper, saw it in 1830. Plenty Coups, a chief of the Absarokee Native Americans, camped there in 1840. Meek had seen the geysers in Yellowstone. He described Colter's Hell in a similar way. This suggests there were active geysers when he visited.
Today, Colter's Hell mainly has hot springs and steam vents. Some old geyser or hot spring cones are still there. They stand up to 30 feet (9 meters) high. Other hot springs were once located where the Shoshone River forks. These are now underwater. They were covered when the Buffalo Bill Dam created a reservoir.
Colter's Hell and Yellowstone
For a long time, people thought Colter's Hell was part of Yellowstone. This idea first appeared in a book. It was written by Hiram M. Chittenden in 1895. His book was called Yellowstone National Park. But Chittenden also described a "tar spring" on the Stinkingwater River. He used the same name for it.
Clearing Up the Confusion
Chittenden's idea was not completely accurate. The earliest published description of Colter's Hell is different. It is found in Washington Irving's account. This account is from Captain Benjamin L.E. Bonneville's journals. Bonneville's scouts visited the site in 1833. In the same year, another of Bonneville's groups found the geyser basins of Yellowstone. They found them along the Firehole River. This shows that Colter's Hell and Yellowstone are different places.
Location and Recognition
Colter's Hell is located just north of US Highways 14, 16, and 20. It is on the west side of Cody, Wyoming. This special area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. This means it is recognized as an important historical site.
