Fly Geyser

Fly Geyser

Fly Geyser
Name origin Named after Fly Ranch
Location Fly Ranch, Washoe County, Nevada
Coordinates 40°51′34″N 119°19′55″W / 40.85944°N 119.33194°WCoordinates: 40°51′34″N 119°19′55″W / 40.85944°N 119.33194°W
Elevation 4,014 feet (1,223 m)
Type Cone-type Geyser
Eruption height 5 feet (1.5 m) and growing
Frequency Constant
Duration Constant

Fly Geyser, also known as Fly Ranch Geyser or the Green Geyser is a man-made small geothermal geyser located in Washoe County, Nevada approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of Gerlach. Fly Geyser is located near the edge of Fly Reservoir and is only about 5 feet (1.5 m) high, but 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, counting the mound on which it sits.

Location

Fly Geyser is located on the private Fly Ranch in Hualapai Flat, about 0.3 miles (0.48 km) from State Route 34.[1] The ranch is currently owned by Todd Jaksick.[2] There is a high fence and a locked gate topped with spikes to exclude trespassers. The only access is a dirt road, but it is large enough to be seen from the road.[1]

Fly Geyser

History

Fly Geyser is not an entirely natural phenomenon; it was accidentally created by well drilling[3] in 1964 exploring for sources of geothermal energy.[4] The well may not have been capped correctly, or left unplugged, but either way dissolved minerals started rising and accumulating, creating the travertine mound on which the geyser sits and continues growing.[4] Water is constantly released, reaching 5 feet (1.5 m) in the air.[1] The geyser contains several terraces discharging water into 30 to 40 pools over an area of 74 acres (30 ha).[5] The geyser is made up of a series of different minerals,[3] but its brilliant colors are due to thermophilic algae.[4]

Other local geysers

A prior well-drilling attempt in 1917 resulted in the creation of a man-made geyser close to the currently active Fly Geyser; it created a pillar of calcium carbonate about 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, but ceased when the Fly Geyser began releasing water in 1964.[4]

Two additional geysers in the area were created in a similar way and continue to grow.[3] The first geyser is approximately 3 feet (0.91 m) and is shaped like a miniature volcano; the second is cone-shaped and is about 5 feet (1.5 m).[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Fly Geyser". CmdrMark.com.
  2. ↑ "Fly Ranch". Friends of Black Rock High Rock.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jaymi McCann (15 July 2013). "There she blows: The incredible pictures of a man-made geyser in the middle of the Nevada Desert". Daily Mail UK.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Richard Moreno (4 November 2008). Nevada Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff. Globe Pequot Press. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-0-7627-4682-8. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Fly Geyser". FlyGeyser.org.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fly Geyser.