The Amazing Fly Geyser

First off, i know there was an old thread about this place. It has been dead for about three years now.


I decided to update the topic with some fresh breathtaking photos i found on the browse. I didn't like the lengthy Wunderground piece on it, so i wrote my own.


Located on Fly Ranch Nevada, the extremely photogenic Fly Geyser Is a privately owned natural wonder, closed off from the public. While it took drilling for a thermal well in 1916 until 1964 when the well began to leak, to start the phenomenon, its completely natural and accidental.

The Geyser grows at a rate of about three inches a year, its calcium deposits is home to an extreme micro ecosystem. The bright red and green colors are that of the thermophilic algae that thrive in the two hundred degree water. All thermophiles require hot water, but have differing needs. Some require acidic water to thrive while others need sulfur or calcium carbonate and others live in alkaline springs.

























Its so beautiful, i almost get an alien vibe against the rest of the landscape.

Credit for the photographs goes to Retired Navy Officer Warren Willis (Amateur Photographer)

Thanks Warren Willis, your amazing photography brightened up my day.

www.warrenwillisphotography.com...

Does anyone else get the urge to go sit in it and relax?
It looks so comfy.

I want a Fly Geyser too!

That is so cool.

I want to lick it it looks lovely cheers OP.

reply to post by boymonkey74


Probably tastes like alka-seltzer rolled in dirt

How amazing would it be to own something like that?
I'm afraid I would never get anything done, because I would be just setting there, watching it all day.

I would start drilling for thermal springs, but i dont want to wait fifty years to have one.

Guess im going to have to go with fiberglass

reply to post by chiefsmom


Yeah i think i would have the same problem, that or falling asleep in it.

Not trying to be picky, but..

en.wikipedia.org...

and was accidentally created in 1916

It looks much taller than it actually is in some of the pictures. Kinda creepy [ but cool ] that it looks like a fly.

reply to post by DAVID64


Your correct, the test well was drilled in 1916. It took years for the pressurized heated water to work through the cap.

reply to post by shaneslaughta


To be fair, the thermal eruption did start in 1964. Still want one in my back yard.

I'd love to see that in person. I think it would be one of the most interesting things out there. I suppose a picture is better than blowing a lot of money to go there. Thanks for the pictures, I never saw the past thread on it. S&F

Originally posted by DAVID64
reply to post by shaneslaughta

 

To be fair, the thermal eruption did start in 1964. Still want one in my back yard.

I edited my OP to include the fact you presented me with. One hell, i wanna drill them all over the country.....think how much more beautiful it would be here.
Is that being greedy?

reply to post by rickymouse


Yeah the old thread died three years ago, and had pictures older than that. It was basically a bunch of people calling shenanigans on it........being a best kept secret and all.

So ill just let that thread die in peace.

I should elaborate, people thought the photos were edited to include extra color....to be expected being in the back 40, unseen by most of the world.

There is a high fence and a locked gate topped with spikes to exclude trespassers from this private property.

That guy is serious about no one getting in. Guess I would be too, seeing as folks would chip pieces off to take home or drop trash all over. Or some moron thinking it funny to add dish washing liquid to see it foam.

reply to post by shaneslaughta


That is freakin cool.

It looks like something out of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, or an Alice in wonderland movie.

reply to post by watchitburn



It is kind of Alice In Wonderland like isn't it.


Just think about it, a primordial earth littered with these things....until all the wells dried up.

That would explain the large deposits of minerals all over the world. If only i could go back in time and see it for myself.

I would guess that the water has molybdenum and magnesium sulfate in it. It may also contain a little methyl mercury and maybe even a little arsenic though. Unless I knew that it didn't contain the last two elements, I wouldn't want to sit in the pool

Originally posted by rickymouse
It may also contain a little methyl mercury and maybe even a little arsenic though.

I think your more likely to find that at Yellowstone due to the sulpher content. Since this is calcium deposits, i dont thing you have to worry about the MeHg+ anyway. As for the arsenic dose it bind with sodium? I know places around Yellowstone had arsenic in their well water.

Good train of thought, i wouldn't want to be absorbing poisons....get enough of them through out the day.

reply to post by shaneslaughta


Since it is high in Calcium, the arcsenic and mercury could be bound meaning that they would not be readily absorbed through the skin. Molybdenum, a chealator, along with some other metals would give it the colors I see. Cinabar is a similar color, that is why I mentioned mercury.