Fly Geyser

Nevada’s Hualapai Geothermal Flats are located about 500 miles from Las Vegas and, for years, have been known by indigenous peoples in the area to be rich in minerals from their geothermal pools. There was only one geyser on the Hualapai Flats, however, when two ranchers known as the Ward Brothers owned the property in 1881. Ward Hot Springs, as it was called at the time, was later sold to Louise Gerlach, who went on to found the town of Gerlach, Nevada- within which Fly Geyser is located today.

Drilling in the hot springs didn’t begin until 1916, when Gerlach residents searching for irrigation water drilled a well into one of the pools. When the water they found there was discovered to be 200 degrees Fahrenheit- far too hot for agricultural purposes- the well was abandoned. Thanks to the springs’ unique mineral makeup, a 10 foot by 12 foot calcium carbonite cone formed within years, creating the property’s first accidentally manmade geyser. But surprisingly, this would not be its last.

In 1964, Western Geothermal- a geothermic energy company- was scouring the Nevadan desert for new places to drill. Eventually, they found Hualapai Flats and chose a drilling spot not far from the original geyser. Upon drilling a well, however, they found that the water- still at its same temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit- was too cool for their purposes. They attempted to seal the well, but not long after, it broke. This second geyser robbed the first of its water supply and before long, Fly Geyser became the six foot tall, three-spouted mound of calcium carbonite that can be seen today. The geyser gets its strange green and red coloration from thermophilic algae, which coats the rock’s surface. Geologically, the formation is unique due to a massive amount of quartz buildup inside the geyser. This is caused by an extremely high amount of the mineral silica in the spring water. According to scientists, quartz typically takes about 10,000 years to build up, and even more time to build up substantially. Somehow, Fly Geyser has done it in less than a few decades.

From the late 1990’s until 2018, Fly Ranch was closed to the public following a particularly raucous 1996 Burning Man festival during which some property destruction occurred. As a part of an environmental company project to revitalize their image, Burning Man bought Fly Ranch in June of 2016. They have since funded research into the history and preservation of Fly Geyser and the Hualapai Flats. Beginning in 2018, scheduled tours of the property were made available to the public through a subsidiary organization. 

Curran, Oisin. Nevada's Fly Geyser Is a Manmade Wonder, How Stuff Works. March 12th 2019. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/nevadas-fly-geyser.htm.

Loveland, Mariel. The Most Beautiful Natural Wonder You've Never Seen Was Accidentally Created By A Power Company, Ranker. September 1st 2017. Accessed October 10th 2020. https://www.ranker.com/list/nevada-fly-geyser-created-by-well-drilling/mariel-loveland.

Nevada Magazine. Only In Your State: Fly Geyser, Nevada Magazine. May-June 2019. Accessed October 10th 2020. https://nevadamagazine.com/issue/may-june-2019/10131/.

Visit Reno Tahoe. Fly Geyser: One of Nevada's Little Surprises, Visit Reno Tahoe. November 14th 2019. Accessed October 8th 2020. https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/things-to-do/fly-geyser-one-of-nevadas-little-surprises/.

Zender, Bree. Fly Geyser Opens To Public For First Time In Two Decades, KUNR. April 6th 2018. Accessed October 10th 2020. https://www.kunr.org/post/fly-geyser-opens-public-first-time-two-decades.