Fly Geyser: Nevada’s Accidental Rainbow Geyser

On a remote ranch north of Gerlach, Nevada, a mound of rock about five feet tall sprays hot water into the desert air. Fly Geyser looks like something from another planet, but people made it by accident. The story starts around 1916, when ranchers drilled an irrigation well on the property and hit scalding water. That well slowly built a calcium carbonate pillar about 12 feet tall, later nicknamed “The Thumb.” In 1964, a geothermal energy company drilled a test well nearby, looking for water hot enough to make power. The water was close to 200°F, which wasn’t hot enough for the company’s needs. The well was left inadequately capped, and the water kept coming. Pressure moved to the new well. Minerals in the water began settling around the opening and built the cone and terraces seen today, which grow by several inches a year. The vivid reds and greens come from thermophilic algae, organisms that thrive in the heat. Sources disagree about what happened to The Thumb. Some say it dried up once Fly Geyser began. Others say it still trickles at a lower rate. The ranch changed hands several times. In 2016, the Burning Man Project bought 3,800 acres, including the geyser, for $6.5 million. Today a few small guided groups each season get to see it up close.