Fly Geyser, also known as Fly Ranch Geyser is a small geothermal
geyser
A geyser (, ) is a spring with an intermittent water discharge ejected turbulently and accompanied by steam. The formation of geysers is fairly rare and is caused by particular hydrogeological conditions that exist only in a few places on Ea ...
located on private land in
Washoe County, Nevada
Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Sta ...
, about north of
Gerlach. Fly Geyser is located near the edge of Fly Reservoir in the
Hualapai Geothermal Flats and is approximately high by wide, counting the mound on which it sits.
In June 2016, the non-profit
Burning Man Project
The Burning Man Project is an American organization that annually plans, manages, and builds Burning Man on the dry lake of the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada. The company coordinates the year-round, behind-the-scenes work needed to bui ...
purchased the Fly Ranch, including the geyser, for $6.5 million. The Burning Man Project began offering limited public access to the property in May 2018. The geyser contains
thermophilic
A thermophile is a type of extremophile that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bact ...
algae, which flourish in moist, hot environments, resulting in multiple hues of green and red, coloring the rocks.
Location
Fly Geyser is located on the Fly Ranch in
Hualapai Flat, about from
State Route 34 and about north of
Gerlach, Nevada
Gerlach, Nevada is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 130 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2010, Gerlach was part of the ...
. It is west of
Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe ecoregion) of lava beds and Dry lake, playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt ...
.
Origin
The source of the Fly Geyser field's heat is attributed to a very deep pool of hot rock where tectonic rifting and faulting are common.
The first geyser at the site was formed in 1916 when a well was drilled seeking irrigation water. When geothermal water at close to boiling point was found, the well was abandoned, and a
calcium carbonate
Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...
cone formed.
[Fly Gerser]
/ref>
In 1964, a geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...
company drilled a second well near the site of the first well.[ The water was not hot enough for energy purposes. They reportedly capped the well, but the seal failed. The discharge from the second well released sufficient pressure that the original geyser dried up.]silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...
, accumulated around the new geyser, creating the cones and travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process ...
pools.
Characteristics
The temperature of the water exiting the geyser can exceed ,[ which is typical for geysers at high elevation.
Carolina Muñoz Saez, who was hired by the Burning Man owners to study the geyser, reported that the geyser contains "a really high amount of silica." The silica combined with the temperature has caused ]quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
to form inside the geyser extraordinarily quickly. Quartz typically takes up to 10,000 years to develop in geysers.[ Saez said the Fly Geyser is unlike any other geyser she has studied.][
Water is constantly released, reaching in the air.]
Public access
Fly Ranch is open to small, guided three-hour nature walks from April to October of each year.[Zee, Brenda (April 6, 2018]
"Fly Geyser Opens To Public For First Time In Two Decades"
KUNR The geyser is part of the nature walk. Tours are managed and led by the Friends of Black Rock-High Rock.[FLY GEYSER NEVADA TOUR – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO]
/ref>[Fly Geyser]
/ref>
Payments for tickets for the walk are considered to be donations and are used to support Fly Ranch and the Friends organization.[
]
Other local geysers
A prior well-drilling attempt in 1917 resulted in the creation of a geyser close to the currently active Fly Geyser; it created a pillar of calcium carbonate about tall, but ceased when the Fly Geyser began releasing water in 1964.
References
External links
Fly Geyser
*
* {{cite web , title=Fly Geyser Nevada , publisher=All Over the Map , url=http://www.allovermap.com/2010/03/fly-geyser-nevada.html , access-date=2010-09-07 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209121828/http://www.allovermap.com/2010/03/fly-geyser-nevada.html , archive-date=2011-12-09 , url-status=dead
Images and background of Fly GeyserFly Ranch-Burning Man Project
Burning Man
Geysers of Nevada
Hot springs of Nevada
Bodies of water of Washoe County, Nevada