9Fly Geyser, USA

Situated on the edge of the Black Rock Desert, Fly Geyser is almost 100 years old. Back then, locals tried to find water for irrigation. A well was drilled in the desert and a geothermal boiling water point was hit (200 degrees). They abandoned the place as the water was too hot to use. It resulted in a 10 to 12-foot calcium carbonate deposit. The first geyser was formed in 1916. Similarly, the other geyser was created accidentally in 1964 when a geothermal power company drilled another well, around 100 feet away from the first geyser. The well was either left uncapped or improperly capped. Boiling water shot from the well and calcium carbonate deposits began to form. Those deposits resulted in the three large mounds. These sediments are now 6-feet tall and multicolored. The geyser trio still spews scalding water for about 4 or 5 feet in the air.

The coloring on the outside of the mound is the result of thermophilic algae, which flourish in a moist and hot environment. The mound also contains quartz. Typically, geysers don’t get quartz in them before 10,000 years but Fly Geyser has it, even though it is just 100 years old! Location: County Rd 34, Gerlach, Nevada, United States

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