White wrote of the experience: “Within seconds, the top cool water was followed by a mixture of boiling water and steam, and the well erupted in a violent eruption – a crushing experience for all of us! … Boiling water and steam covered drilling. platform and hidden the operating levers … “
However, the scientists soon learned how to handle these eruptions, even though they couldn’t be stopped.
Their boreholes reached a depth of 215 to 1081 feet, with an average depth of about 520 feet.
The drilling allowed the scientists to describe the mineral composition of Yellowstone’s subsurface.
Most of the boreholes were clogged, but some were left open for future water sampling.
One of these boreholes erupted with water and steam in Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin in 1992.