Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 68 - A Rainbow Fountain Of Hot Water (The Fly Geyser Of Nevada, USA)

Last day of summer today, Friday, and another miraculous spectacle is here to make it on the list of Bizarre Natural Phenomena around the world!

How this story goes

Some 60 years back (1961) on the private property of Fly Ranch in Nevada (USA), a geothermal power company was running some test drills in their search for geothermal power resources. It turned out that they hit a spot and hot water starts coming out and they think they've found something good... ^{[1, 2, 3]}

But...

The water was not hot enough to be used a geothermal power source, so they needed to cover the hole up. It seems that those who got to "close" the hole either didn't do a good job or did no job at all. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

So what? They left another hot spring open? What's the big deal about it?

It's not just a hot spring! It's a geyser! A scorching hot fountain inspired by the colors of the rainbow (or the illusions of drug use). The sight is of unique beauty and combines the human factor with natural resources. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

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^{Image from: commons.wikimedia.com - Courtesy of: Jeremy C. Munns - Public Domain}

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How?

The geyser sits on calcium carbonate deposits. Over the decades they have piled up from the hot water escaping the underground and caused the geyser to grow a few centimeters taller every year. The geyser has reached a height of 1.5 meters and a width of almost 3.5 meters. Spread all over it, you can see beautiful terraces that spew water into about 40 pools. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

And the colors?

The colors are the results of thermophylic algae that thrive in the extremely hot temperatures of the area. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

It has company

Two more geysers were created the same way the Fly Geyser was. The one is as tall as the Fly Geyser and looks like a cone and the other is a bit shorter (about 1 meter tall) and resembles a small volcano. ^[1]

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^{Image from: commons.wikimedia.com - Courtesy of: Ken Lund - License: CC BY-SA 2.0}

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There was another geyser in the area, created long before those three, back in 1917. But this one stopped spewing hot water after the 1964 accident. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

The ranch is located at the edge of the Black Rock Desert and the High Rock Canyon in Nevada, which is a National Conservation Area and offers aplenty magnificent sights spanning over 300,000 acres. For more information on the actions and beauties of the place, you can check the site: blackrockdesert.org.

From private to public

The 3,800-acre ranch was bought by the the non-profit The Burning Man Project in 2016. The people of the project aim at making the place accessible to visitors and they are currently organizing guided walks under a small fee. If you are interested, you can visit their official site (it's the link above) and learn more. You can make donations to the growing project or book your ticket for a walk among the hot water pools and out-of-this-world geysers. You can also check their online journal for all the latest news.

Every cloud has a silver lining...

Not the first time drilling companies "create miracles by accident". If you remember, the Door to Hell from Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 4was also made after an accident at a drilling rig that left a natural-gas-emitting pit open and... burning since 1971!

You can always watch this video for more

And don't miss out on these amazing galleries with shots that will blow your mind:

• boredpanda.com
• visitrenotahoe.com
• allthatsinteresting.com

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References

[1] wikipedia.org
[2] atlasobscura.com
[3] snopes.com
[4] flyranch.burningman.org
[5] boredpanda.com
[6] visitrenotahoe.com
[7] allthatsinteresting.com

Thank you so much for your time!

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!