Geyser

A geyser is a type of hot spring that erupts periodically, ejecting a column of hot water and steam into the air. The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the verb gjósa, "to gush".

Misnamed geysers

In a number of places where there is geothermal activity wells have been drilled and fitted with impermeable casements that allow them to erupt like geysers. Though these so-called artificial geysers, technically known as erupting geothermal wells, are not true geysers, they can be quite spectacular. Little Old Faithful Geyser, in Calistoga, California, is an erupting geothermal well.

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Sometimes drilled cold-water wells erupt in a geyser-like manner due to the build-up of pressure from dissolved carbon dioxide in the water. These are not true geysers either, but are often called cold-water geysers. The best known of these is probably Crystal Geyser, near Green River, Utah (Glennon, J.A. and Pfaff, R.M. 2005).

Related Topics:
Crystal Geyser - Green River, Utah - Glennon, J.A.

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A perpetual spouter is a natural hot spring that spouts water constantly. Some of these are incorrectly called geysers, but because they are not periodic in nature they are not considered true geysers either.

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