Thursday, June 19, 2014

Fly Geyser

Fly Geyser is a rainbow of color: reds, greens, yellows and brown and an amazing sight to behold.


    It’s not all together a natural phenomenon. Seems it was created quite by accident in 1964.  Drillers were searching for geothermal energy and when they had finished exploring, they left the site and evidently they either didn't do a good enough job of capping the well, or they simply didn’t cap it at all. Dissolved minerals began rising up. The scalding hot water spews out of the geyser bringing with it calcium carbonate, which forms the visible portion. The brilliant colors come from thermophilic algae that thrive in the extreme heat. Over time the calcium carbonate has created a travertine mound with the peculiar shaped geyser sitting on top of it. It continues to grow several inches each year.
    The equally peculiar name comes from the Fly Ranch, upon which it sits. Unfortunately, the ranch is not open to the public, although the landowner has in the past allowed a few folks each year to come through his gate and photograph this truly marvelous geyser.
    But all that has recently changed. The Burning Man Project acquired the property and is in the preliminary stages of development. They hope to create an artistic and ecological community, founded on the Ten Principles of Burning Man. The organization states the following, “... this 4,000 acre site contains an abundance of natural resources and wonders that will serve as a world class ecological heritage site and living arts community.”
   
    I wondered how the geyser would look in black and white, so with the a little computer magic here’s the answer. Hmmmm?
    By the way, I’ve never seen Fly Geyser up close and personal, so I did what any enterprising blogger might do I pulled the photograph from the Internet. Before any of you get all hot and bothered because you think I might have violated copyright privileges, this photograph is in the public domain, so it’s free from all that legal stuff.
    Fly Geyser is located in northern Nevada on Fly Ranch, 21 miles north of Gerlach.
   
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