Fly Geyser
Encyclopedia
Fly Geyser, also known as Fly Ranch Geyser is a small geothermal geyser
that is located approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Gerlach
, in Washoe County
, Nevada
. The Geyser is located in Hualapai Flat
, about 1/3 of a mile from State Route 34
. It is large enough to be seen from the road.
Fly Geyser is located on the private Fly Ranch and is accessible only by a small private dirt road. The ranch is currently owned by Todd Jaksick. There is a high fence and a locked gate with several metal spokes on the top to keep trespassers out, but despite the booby traps, many people still prefer to jump the fence to get a better look. Several organizations have tried to purchase the land for conservation, and make it open to the public, but have been denied.
Fly Geyser is a very little known tourist attraction, even to Nevada residents. It is located right near the edge of Fly Reservoir and is only about 5 feet (1.5 m) high, (12 feet (3.7 m) if you count the mound on which it sits). The Geyser is not an entirely natural phenomenon, and was accidentally 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 the mount on which the geyser sits, which is still growing to date. Today, water is constantly squirting out reaching 5 feet (1.5 m) in the air. The geyser contains several terraces discharging water into 30 to 40 pools over an area of 30 hectares (74.1 acre). The geyser is made up of a series of different minerals, which gives it its magnificent coloration.
There are two additional geysers in the area that were created in a similar way as Fly Geyser. The first geyser is approximately 3 feet high and is shaped like a miniature volcano. The second geyser is cone shaped and is of the same approximate size as Fly Geyser. Like Fly Geyser, these geysers are continually growing.
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
that is located approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Gerlach
Gerlach-Empire, Nevada
Gerlach-Empire is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The combined population was 499 at the 2000 census. A former company town for United States Gypsum Corporation, Empire was once home to more than 750 people. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan...
, in Washoe County
Washoe County, Nevada
Washoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 421,407 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County includes the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area.-History:...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. The Geyser is located in Hualapai Flat
Hualapai Flat
Hualapai Flat is a valley in northwestern Nevada located northwest of the Black Rock Desert. The two valleys are separated by the Calico Hills. The Granite Range marks the southern and western edges of Hualapai Flat. To the north the valley is constrained by the Granite Range and the Calico Mountains...
, about 1/3 of a mile from State Route 34
Nevada State Route 34
Former SR 34 is a signed decommissioned State highway in Nevada from prior to the state's highway restructuring in 1978. Today a portion of former SR 34 is maintained by the Washoe County as a county highway with the not well known designation CR 34...
. It is large enough to be seen from the road.
Fly Geyser is located on the private Fly Ranch and is accessible only by a small private dirt road. The ranch is currently owned by Todd Jaksick. There is a high fence and a locked gate with several metal spokes on the top to keep trespassers out, but despite the booby traps, many people still prefer to jump the fence to get a better look. Several organizations have tried to purchase the land for conservation, and make it open to the public, but have been denied.
Fly Geyser is a very little known tourist attraction, even to Nevada residents. It is located right near the edge of Fly Reservoir and is only about 5 feet (1.5 m) high, (12 feet (3.7 m) if you count the mound on which it sits). The Geyser is not an entirely natural phenomenon, and was accidentally 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 the mount on which the geyser sits, which is still growing to date. Today, water is constantly squirting out reaching 5 feet (1.5 m) in the air. The geyser contains several terraces discharging water into 30 to 40 pools over an area of 30 hectares (74.1 acre). The geyser is made up of a series of different minerals, which gives it its magnificent coloration.
There are two additional geysers in the area that were created in a similar way as Fly Geyser. The first geyser is approximately 3 feet high and is shaped like a miniature volcano. The second geyser is cone shaped and is of the same approximate size as Fly Geyser. Like Fly Geyser, these geysers are continually growing.