Old Faithful of California EarthCache
Old Faithful of California
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Old Faithful Geyser in Calistoga is open 7 days a week, 9:00am to 5:00pm (entrance fee is currently $14 for adults, $9 for Seniors and $6 for children age 6-12). Bring a picnic lunch and see the geyser, the Tennessee Fainting Goats, and the bamboo forest (which is where my daughter spent most of her time).
Bet you didn’t know there’s a river in Calistoga! This river flows deep underground however, and when it encounters hot magma the steam shoots up through rock fissures to eventually form a geyser on the surface. A geyser only needs the following conditions to exist: a natural supply of water, a heat source, and a network of rock fissures. To qualify to be known as an “Old Faithful” geyser, all of these conditions must remain CONSTANT (which results in regular eruptions under normal conditions). The moon, the tides, barometric pressure, and earthquakes all can disrupt the timing of these regular eruptions.
The word geyser comes from the word Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland (Geysir came from the Icelandic word gjosa, which means "to gush"). About 1000 geysers exist worldwide, mainly in just 3 countries of the world - New Zealand, Iceland, and the United States. Roughly half of the geysers worldwide can be found in Yellowstone National Park. The eruption intervals of geysers can vary widely, from seconds to years. The height of the eruption can vary from 3 feet to 328 feet tall. "Geysers" can even be found outside of Earth. Erupting fountains of liquefied nitrogen have been observed on Neptune's moon Triton.
Geysers are generally located in active volcanic areas and are typically aligned along earthquake faults. There are two types of geysers: Fountain Geysers, which erupt from pools of water, typically in a series of intense bursts; and Cone Geysers, which erupt from cones or mounds of siliceous sinter (also known as geyserite), usually in steady jets. Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park is an example of a Cone Geyser.
Your mission is to witness 3 eruptions of the geyser and then record the following information: height of each eruption, duration of each eruption, and interval of time between each of the 3 eruptions.
To claim a find, you must:
(1) e-mail me the data you recorded (height of 3 eruptions, duration of 3 eruptions, and length of time between each of the 3 eruptions).
(2) e-mail me the answer to this question: how hot is the geyser water? The answer may be found in the reading material in the lobby.
(3) log a picture of yourself standing directly in front of the geyser during a live eruption (scared expression is encouraged but entirely optional).
Additional Hints
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