The Fly Geyser

A geyser is a natural vent on the surface of the Earth that periodically ejects a column of hot water and steam. Geysers are amazing natural phenomena, some of which emits thousands of gallons of boiling-hot water up to a few hundred feet high up in the air. However, the odd shaped Fly Geyser on the edge of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada is accidentally man made. Located on the private land of the Fly Ranch in Hualapai Geothermal Flats, it is one of the coolest attractions of the state, though many residents of the surrounding area are still not aware about its vibrant existence.

In fact, there are two geysers on the Fly Ranch Property. The first one was created in the early 1900s, in an attempt to make a small part of the desert irrigated and make suitable for farming. However, as a well was drilled, it started to emit geothermal boiling water, which obviously not suitable for irrigation. Naturally, it was abandoned and gradually, a ten to twelve feet high cone of calcium carbonate was formed.

Subsequently, a geothermic energy company drilled a test well near the same site in 1964, which also started to sprout the same 200 degrees hot water about five feet high up in the air. However, since the spouted water was not sufficiently hot for their purpose, the well was ordered to be capped. But, probably it was not properly capped or poorly-sealed and hence, the repetitive eruptions of dissolved minerals for a prolonged period developed the mount and various terraces that surrounded the ever-growing geyser.

Apart from that, the thermophile organism, a type of earliest bacteria that thrive in the hot and wet conditions created by the geyser, resulted in the multiple hues of red and green that adds to its breathtaking and out-of-this-world appearance.

During the last forty years, this second geyser, known as Fly Geyser, has substantially grown in size due to the eruption of the dissolved minerals from the geothermal water pocket deposited below the desert surface. The source of the Fly Geyser field's heat is associated with a very deep pool of hot rock where tectonic rifting and faulting are common. As the geyser has multiple spouts, it has not produced a cone as large as the first one, but it has designed an ever growing alien looking mound. What differentiates this geyser from the others is these small mounds with the amazing colours of the dissolved minerals which accumulated over the past few years and still continues to grow in size over the years. The Fly Geyser is a masterpiece of nature's wonders.

Currently the spectacular geyser is not open to the public. The Fly Ranch property, covering an area of 3.88 acres, which includes the Fly Geyser, was purchased by Burning Man in 2016. Burning Man is, however, an annual gathering in Black Rock City, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, organized by the Burning Man Project, a non-profit organization.