Fly Geyser, the Accidental Wonder
In the Nevada desert, a mound of bright red and green rock spouts hot water like something from another planet. It was made by accident.
What was reported
Fly Geyser stands on private land in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada: a cluster of colourful mounds several metres high, streaked with red, orange and green, constantly spouting jets of hot water into terraced pools.
It isn't natural. In the 1960s, a company drilling for geothermal energy left a well open. Hot, mineral-rich water has gushed out ever since, building up the mounds.
Explanations offered
Dissolved minerals in the water, especially calcium carbonate, are deposited as the water cools, slowly building the mounds. The colours come from heat-loving algae and bacteria. The land is now owned by the organisers of the Burning Man festival, who run tours.
- When
- Formed after the 1960s
- Where
- Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
- Witnesses
- Visitors and the Burning Man Project
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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