The Firehole River, located in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, is one of three major rivers that flow from the Continental Divide. Early fur trappers witnessed smoke spewing up from the ground and assumed it smoke from fires below. Also the word used for valley, at the time, was hole. Hence the name firehole was coined.
     Excelsior Geyser, a fumarole thought to be inactive, pumps more than 4,000 gallons of water per minute into the Firehole River. Excelsior was once the world's largest geyser and lay dormant for almost one hundred years. In September of 1985 it awoke and shot up water 80 feet, but only for two days. Today the park's staff keeps a watchful eye and hopes the geyser will return to its former grand displays.