Economic Geyser

Economic Geyser is a now inactive fountain-type geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin, located between Grand Geyser and Giant Geyser.

History
This geyser was most likely named by Frank Jay Haynes, the official photographer of Yellowstone National Park from 1883-1916. It is thought to have been named for its eruption activity, in which it appeared that most of the water that came out drained back into the pool rather than flowing away from the geyser.

This thrifty geyser was popular and active until the 1920s, sometimes erupting as frequently as every 4 minutes. However, few eruptions have been observed since. Five eruptions were observed on one day in 1957, and eruptions were frequent in the weeks following the 1959 earthquake, reaching heights of up to 25 feet. Two eruptions occurred 5 minutes apart on July 28th, 1975.

The last two observed eruptions were solo bursts of approximately 10 feet, one on August 7, 1997 and one on July 14, 1999.

There is some circumstantial but plausible evidence that Economic Geyser is connected with the Grand Geyser group; following the 1959 earthquake, Grand was dormant for the first time in decades, and resumed activity when, a few weeks later, Economic Geyser went silent.

Current Activity
Economic Geyser is currently inactive as of August 2019, and the color of the bacterial mats (ranging from orange to dark brown and dark green) indicate that it is significantly cooler than many of the other features in the area (although color can fluctuate quite a bit from season to season).