Nevada's Fly Geyser

As you head east out of Reno, then north on Highway 447, it’s about a two hour drive before you arrive in the lonely town of Gerlach. Other than taking a quick side trip to visit Pyramid Lake, there’s not much of interest along the way to capture your attention. Gerlach is best known for is its proximity to the Black Rock Desert, the home of the annual Burning Man event. 

But its other claim to fame is the nearby Fly Geyser, one of the most unique geysers in the world. 

The story of it began in 1916 when an irrigation well was drilled in the desert twenty miles north of town. It was soon abandoned when geothermal water containing high concentrations of silica and calcium carbonate, making it unsuitable for farming, was discovered. Over the next forty-eight years this mineral-rich water continuously bubbled out of the ground leaving calcium deposits which eventually formed a twelve foot high cone nicknamed, “The Wizard”. You can see it off in the distance in the above image. It's the small white structure on the bottom right side of the photo. 

In 1964 a local energy company drilled a second well several hundred feet away, but capped it when it was discovered the water was not hot enough to provide geothermal energy. The seal failed however, sharply reducing the water pressure of The Wizard and redirecting the water flow to this new site. Another formation, the Fly Geyser, began to grow at a rate of six inches per year, and now stands almost thirty feet tall. It has multiple spouts shooting water into the air, creating a series of terraced pools that cover a seventy-four acre area. Thermophilic algae grows in and around the geyser accounting for the bright red, orange and green colors that give it its unique appearance.