Fly Geyser

Fly Geyser is one of the best known examples of an accidentally created geyser. It is located in Washoe County, Nevada, in the United States, about 32 km north of Gerlach, and less than a mile from State Route 34. The geyser was created in 1916 during the drilling of a well. The well functioned normally for several decades, but then in the 1960s geothermally heated water found a weak spot in the wall and began escaping to the surface. Dissolved minerals started rising and piling up, creating a mound stained with fascinating colours, on which the geyser sits. Its brilliant colours are due to thermophilic algae. The geyser contains several terraces discharging water into 30 to 40 pools over an area of 74 acres. The mound is 5 feet high from the top of which water shoots another 5 feet into the air. The mound is still growing to date.