What is the name of a periodically gushing natural hot spring? Geysers as tourism objects

Geysers are periodically gushing hot springs common in areas of modern or recently defunct volcanic activity. With an explosion and roar, a huge column of boiling water, shrouded in thick clouds of steam, flies up, sometimes reaching 80 m. The fountain beats for a while, then disappears, the clouds of steam dissipate, and peace sets in.

Geysers are a very rare and beautiful natural phenomenon. They are found in Kamchatka, in one of the regions of Tibet at an altitude of 4700 m, in Iceland, New Zealand and North America. Small single geysers are found in some other volcanic areas of the globe. In the eastern part of Kamchatka, south of Kronotsky Lake, the Geysernaya River flows. This river begins on the lifeless slopes of the extinct Kikhpinych volcano and in its lower reaches forms a valley up to 3 km wide. In this valley there are many hot springs, hot and warm lakes, etc.

About 20 large geysers are known here, not counting small ones that splash water up just a few centimeters. The soil around them is warm and sometimes hot. Many geysers are surrounded by deposits of multi-colored geyserite, which sometimes cover large areas. For example, near the largest geyser in Kamchatka, the Giant, which throws out a fountain several tens of meters high, a geyserite area of ​​about a hectare has formed. It is all covered with sagging in the form of small stone roses of grayish-yellow color. Nearby is the Zhemchuzhny Geyser, so named for the shape and color of the geyserite deposits. Sugar Geyser is surrounded by beautiful deposits of soft pink geyserite. This is a pulsating source. Water splashes out of it in even bursts. Geyser Pervenets is located on a rocky hot platform almost on the very bank of the Shumnaya River, not far from the mouth of Geysernaya. The Pervenets pool, with a diameter and depth of about one and a half meters, is surrounded by large blocks of stones. If you look into it immediately after the eruption, you will see that there is absolutely no water in it, and at the bottom you can see a hole or channel that goes obliquely into the depths. A few minutes later, a rumble is heard from underground, similar to the noise of a motor: water begins to rise through the canal, gradually filling the pool. It boils, reaches the edges of the pool, rises higher and higher, splashes out, and finally, with an explosion, an obliquely directed column of boiling water bursts out, shrouded in thick clouds of steam, a fountain 15-20 m high beats for 2-3 minutes, then disappears, the steam dissipates .

Iceland has long been famous for its hot springs, boiling rivers and geysers. In the valleys of most of its rivers, rising clouds of vapor from boiling springs and geysers are visible. They are especially numerous in the southwestern part of the island. The famous Big Geyser with a pool diameter of about 18 m is interesting. The smooth bottom of the pool in the center turns into a rounded vent about 3 m in diameter, similar in shape to the bell of a pioneer forge. The eruptions of the Great Geysir are very beautiful. They are repeated every 20-30 hours and last about 3 hours. The height of the fountain reaches 30 m. Residents of harsh Iceland use hot springs to grow vegetables and fruits in greenhouses. The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, and most cities and towns are heated entirely by hot springs.

On the North Island in the New Zealand archipelago, the Waimangu geyser operated until 1904. It was the largest geyser in the world. During a strong eruption, its stream was thrown to a height of 450 m. But now this geyser has completely disappeared, which is associated with an 11 m drop in the water level in the nearby Lake Tarawera. The eruption of another New Zealand geyser - Crow's Nest (Crow's Nest) on the shore of Lake Waikato - also depends on the water level in the lake. If the water is high, the geyser erupts every 40 minutes; if the water level is low, the eruption occurs after 2 hours.

Origin of geysers

Geysers occur in areas where, at a depth of several hundred meters, there is a rapid increase in water temperature to the boiling point. The geyser outlet channel has bends that prevent steam from escaping to the surface and cooling the water by convection. If, as a result of the formation of steam bubbles at depth, the level of liquid in the channel rises so much that it spills onto the surface, then a drop in pressure can lead to the boiling of the remaining liquid, the formation of a large volume of superheated steam and the release of a jet of water to a great height. It is believed that most of the erupted water enters the geyser channel through cracks from the surface of the earth. However, high rock temperatures indicate the presence of recently solidified or solidifying magma at shallow depths; therefore, some of the water may be of magmatic origin. The alkaline waters of geysers contain dissolved silica. At the opening of the outlet channel, deposits of siliceous tuff (geyserite) form a cone several meters high.

In regions of intense modern or recently completed volcanic activity, there are often sources that, under high steam pressure, periodically emit fountains of hot water and steam directly onto the Earth's surface. These are the so-called geysers. There are also hot springs, characterized by the slow flow of water from cracks in the earth's crust.

Iceland is rich in hot springs and geysers, where there are about 700 of them. The name “geyser” comes from the Icelandic word “to gush, to gush.” On the territory of Russia, there are geysers in Kamchatka; the Valley of Geysers is especially popular. These phenomena are also known in North and South America, Japan, New Zealand, and China. The appearance of geysers is varied. They can look like small truncated cones with steep slopes, like low gentle domes, like small bowl-shaped ditches, like irregularly shaped pits, etc. In their walls or bottom there are outlet openings of slot-like or tubular channels.

The functioning of geysers is characterized by the presence of periods of rest, filling the basin with water, gushing out a mixture of steam and water, completing the release of steam and again transitioning to the resting stage. Geysers are divided into two groups: regular and irregular. For those sources that belong to the first group, the duration of the cycle and its individual periods is relatively constant, for irregular geysers it is variable. For different geysers, stages can last minutes, tens of minutes, and the duration of periods of rest can range from several minutes to several days. The activity of geysers does not last long, which is associated with several factors, in particular, a decrease in the flow of groundwater near the canals, a decrease in heat flow, etc.

Geysers gush, spewing water to great heights. For example, the Giant geyser in Kamchatka throws out a stream of water with a diameter of 3 m and a height of up to 50 m every 5-6 hours. And in North America, the Old Faithful geyser raises a water column to a height of 80 m every hour.

The water ejected by geysers onto the earth's surface is clean, slightly mineralized, with a high content of silica. A rock such as geyserite, close in structure to opal, is formed at the exit of the geyser channel precisely from silica. The chemical composition of water is sodium chloride or sodium chloride-bicarbonate. The water emitted by geysers is of atmospheric origin, mixed with magma moisture condensate.

The hypothesis described below about the mechanism of geyser formation is generally accepted. Water that has seeped into the channel from rock layers in its lower sections heats up and boils with the formation of steam, which throws the water out.

Related materials:

Geysers are located near active or relatively recently dormant volcanoes. The heat spreading from the magma chamber heats the groundwater almost to a boil, which fills cracks and faults near the surface. Geyser eruptions have nothing in common with volcanic eruptions. However, for geysers to erupt, heat coming from the volcano is required. That's why geysers...

• Introduction
• 1. General information about geysers
• 2. Geysers as tourism objects
  • 2. 1. Valley of Geysers, Kamchatka, Russia
    • 2. 1. 1. general information
    • 2. 1. 2. Geyser Giant
    • 2. 1. 3. Geyser Triple
    • 2. 1. 4. Tourism opportunities
  • 2. 2. Yellowstone National Park, USA
    • 2. 2. 1. General information
    • 2. 2. 2. Geysers and thermal springs
    • 2. 2. 3. Tourism opportunities

Geysers as tourism objects (essay, coursework, diploma, test)

1. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT GEYSERS The word “geyser” is of Icelandic origin; it comes from “geiza,” which means “to gush.” A geyser is a source that periodically ejects fountains of hot water and steam to a height of 20−40 m or more. They are hot steam-water springs that periodically gush; they get their name from the Geysir region of Iceland, where they were first observed. Geysers are one of the manifestations of volcanism, therefore they are found in areas of manifestation of modern and recent volcanic activity: in Iceland, Italy, on the island. Java, in New Zealand (northern island), in Yellowstone National Park in America, geysers are also noted in Tibet at an altitude of 4700 m above sea level. In the Geysernaya Valley in Kamchatka, 12 large geysers and several dozen small ones have been described. The water temperature at the outlet of the containing channels is close to the boiling point and, depending on the area, ranges from 80 to 100°. The height of the gushing varies, sometimes reaching 50 m and above. One of the largest geysers in Yellowstone Park, “Giant,” shoots out a column of water and steam up to 40 m high with a temperature of 94.8°.

The well-known Great Geyser in Iceland gushes to a height of about 30 liters for 10 minutes every 2430 hours. The channel from which the steam-water fountains are emitted has a diameter of 3 m and is surrounded in the shape of a cone by siliceous deposits of the geyser. At the top of the cone there is a pool with a diameter of 18 m and a depth of 2 m, periodically filled with hot water. The water temperature on the surface of the pool is about 8082°, and in the channel, at the depth of the bottom of the pool, it reaches 120°.

In 1941, T.I. Ustinova discovered numerous geysers in Kamchatka, in the valley of the river. Noisy, in the vicinity of the Kikhpinych hill. At least 22 large and about a hundred small geysers were discovered here. Another river of Kamchatka is called Geysernaya. There are about 20 large geysers in its valley, and among them is the largest geyser in Kamchatka, called the Giant. It throws out a fountain of water up to 40 m high, and a column of steam rises up to several hundred meters.

The eruption of the geyser is a very beautiful sight. Enveloped in steam, a powerful jet of boiling water rushes up with a roar, scattering at a great height into myriads of splashes. The fountain flows for a while, and then the stream suddenly disappears, the steam dissipates and everything calms down. And after a certain time everything repeats again. As a rule, there is a small natural pool around the geyser with a diameter of up to several meters. The ground near the geyser is usually very warm, even hot.

The main thing that distinguishes geysers from other warm and hot springs is the frequency of their action. The time intervals between eruptions vary from geyser to geyser. Some geysers emit a stream of boiling water every 10-20 minutes, others only once or twice a month. Thus, eruptions of the Old Faithful geyser, located on the territory of Yellowstone National Park in the US state of Wyoming, repeat every 50-70 minutes. Almost all geysers erupt last only a few minutes.

There is no water in the geyser basin immediately after the next eruption has stopped. In the center of the pool there is a hole; this is a geyser tube going deep into the channel. For example, at the Great Geyser in Iceland, the tube has a diameter of 3 m and goes 23 m deep. Before the eruption begins, water rises through the tube and gradually fills the pool. At the same time, it bubbles, then a fountain of boiling water shoots up. At the end of the eruption, the water from the pool goes into the tube.

Geysers are located near active or relatively recently dormant volcanoes. The heat spreading from the magma chamber heats the groundwater almost to a boil, which fills cracks and faults near the surface. Geyser eruptions have nothing in common with volcanic eruptions. However, for geysers to erupt, heat coming from the volcano is required.

The mechanism of operation of the geyser, in the diagram, is as follows: in the thickness of the Earth there is a channel that bends in a zigzag shape and is filled with superheated water, i.e., water at a temperature close to the boiling point at the pressures that exist in the channel. When the steam pressure reaches a certain strength, the water from the channel is pushed out; this leads to a decrease in pressure, and thereby to the immediate conversion of significant quantities of superheated water into steam. Then steam and water are ejected from the canal in a strong stream, forming a fountain that shoots to a height of several meters.

The hot waters of geysers contain a large amount of minerals, especially silicon oxide. When geysers gush, these minerals are deposited around the outlet channel, sometimes forming large cones. Such mineral formations are called geyserites.

Where geysers occur, there are always a large number of hot springs and steam jets. They are classified as ordinary thermal springs; they function almost stably. Geysers can be called unusual thermal springs: they are characterized by a periodic explosive nature of functioning and violent eruptions occur at certain intervals.

From a physics point of view, there is a fundamental difference between geysers and ordinary thermal springs, which predetermines the significantly different nature of their functioning. In both cases, there are processes of heat supply, which comes from the magma chamber, and processes of heat removal, which is somehow transferred to the environment. In the case of thermal sources, there is a constant balance between heat supply and heat removal: how much heat the source receives per unit time, the same amount of heat it loses per unit time. In the case of a geyser, there is no such balance. At all stages of geyser activity, with the exception of the eruption stage, heat supply is greater than heat removal, and therefore the water in the geyser tube is gradually heated. Sooner or later, this leads to an explosion: the heat removal process suddenly changes qualitatively, the water in the tube boils, and the geyser erupts. At the stage of geyser eruption, the heat removal is significantly greater than the heat supply.

It has been established that a geyser is always preceded by a thermal source (hot or boiling), in which the processes of heat supply and heat removal are balanced. Under certain conditions, the balance is disrupted and the source goes into geyser mode, that is, it turns into a geyser. Analysis of the conditions for such a transition is quite complicated. Let us only note that in this case, an important role is played by changes in the convection processes occurring in the water mass of the source, as well as the emergence of conditions that prevent the free exit of steam from the system. Sometimes the transition and geyser mode occurs as a result of a slight decrease in the cross-sectional area of ​​the tube.

Conclusions Geysers are a complex geological and natural phenomenon. Confinement to certain geological structures determines their low prevalence. It has been established that geysers were originally thermal springs, which under certain conditions turned into geysers.

Bibliography

1. Vlodavets V. I. Volcanoes of the Soviet Union. - M.: Nauka, 1949.
2. Gorshkov G. P. Earthquake on the territory of the Soviet Union- M.: Nedra, 1949.
3. Ustinova T. I. Geyser in the valley of the Shumnaya River// Bulletin. volcanologist, senior in Kamchatka (USSR Academy of Sciences). - 1946. - No. 12a.
4. Ustinova T. I. Geysers in Kamchatka// Izv. VGO. - 1946. - issue. 46.
5. Ustinova T. I. Kamchatka geysers. M.: Nedra, 1949.
6. Holmes A. Fundamentals of Physical Geology.M.: Nauka, 1949.
7. Silkin B.I. Hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone Lake// Nature. 2002. - No. 2. pp. 62−66.
8. Prikhodko V. E. The world's first national park// Chemistry and life. 2004. - No. 6. pp. 58−60.
9. http://www.travel.ru
10. http://www.kamchatka.org.ru

A geyser is a rather rare natural phenomenon, which is an echo of volcanic activity. The first mention of such a phenomenon can be found in the chronicles of 1294. It was then that a boiling spring was discovered in Iceland. And the springs of Kamchatka were formed approximately 40 thousand years ago.

general description

A geyser is a spring of hot water that practically bursts out of the ground as too much water accumulates in the bowl. Sometimes the temperature exceeds +100 degrees. The fountain beats for some time and stops, the steam disappears, and nothing reminds of its former activity. Activity begins with a slow rise of water and gradually increases. The water is constantly bubbling. The name neiser translates as “to break through,” and came into the world’s languages ​​from Iceland, where a similar phenomenon was first discovered. By the way, unlike a thermal spring, which bubbles constantly, a geyser spews water periodically.

How it all happens

Large fountains are observed only in those places where there are active volcanoes or those that have ceased their activity quite recently. There are hot springs that do not throw out water like a fountain, but simply bubble in a bowl, even bubble. Along the edges of a bowl or basin there are usually deposits of silica, which are contained in boiling water. The deposits are also called geyserites. They can grow along the banks up to several meters high.

After the end of the source’s activity, you can see how the water gradually goes deep into the earth along the vent. How is a geyser formed? This is, in fact, a consequence of a volcanic eruption, provided that the magma remained in the upper layers of the soil. It remains constantly hot, releasing steam and gases through all sorts of holes and cracks. Then the gases and water mix, dissolving minerals and other substances in the mixture. Then the lower layer of water becomes less dense and begins to gradually rise upward.

If the passage to the outside is narrow, then the water is heated unevenly and cannot turn into steam, so bubbles appear on the surface. A little later, small fountains form, which are only harbingers of the beginning of a large eruption. At the end of the eruption, underground caves and grottoes are completely freed of water. A new phenomenon will occur next time only on the condition that the entire bowl and grottoes are filled again with underground waters.

Danger and benefit

The statement that everything that nature has created is only beneficial for humans is incorrect in this case. A geyser is a real danger. If you move carelessly and get as close as possible, you can fall into the bowl and get welded. This sometimes happens to careless animals, because the water temperature is approximately +100 degrees.

In addition, it contains a huge amount of mercury and arsenic, other chemical compounds that do not bring any benefit to the human body, but only harm.

On the other hand, in Iceland they have adapted hot springs to generate electrical energy, which is used to heat water and greenhouses and other household needs.

Natural hot water fountains in Russia

In Russia there is the Valley of Geysers, the springs of which are the only ones in all of Eurasia and one of the largest in the world. They are located on the territory of the Kronotsky State Biosphere Reserve in Kamchatka.

This is a deep canyon on the Geysernaya River. The total occupied area under the geysers of Kamchatka is 6 square kilometers. It looks something like this: along the banks of the river there are multiple outlets of hot springs, geysers, and there are even thermal areas.

The ecosystem of this zone is very vulnerable to anthropogenic impact; the condition of the complex is constantly monitored on the territory of the reserve. Access to the geysers itself is difficult. Since 1992, the geysers of Kamchatka can be seen exclusively from the window of a helicopter.

In 2007, after heavy rainfalls, a dam appeared in these places, but in 2013, the dam was destroyed by new rains, and some of the geysers were filled again.

Iceland

It is on this island of volcanic origin that there is the largest number of geysers. In Iceland, earthquakes occur almost every day, and volcanic eruptions occur every 4-5 years. It is for this reason that there are a huge number of hot springs on the island. As the locals put it, this place is a large natural “stoker.”

The most famous, along with geysers in Russia, the geyser of Iceland is located in the southwestern part of the island - in the Heikadalur valley. Here all the sources are located practically on top of each other, they are all different in size, shape and even color. Some geysers are connected to each other by small spills. In the valley there is always warm earth, above which there is always steam.

Almost all tourists are entertained by a trick involving eggs, which are placed in a pan and lowered into a small geyser, where after 10 minutes they become completely ready for consumption.

It was here that the Great Geyser was located, discovered in the 13th century, which gushed up to a height of 60 meters until the 20th century. But after the next earthquake, he began to gradually calm down and completely stopped being active.

USA

There are three areas with thermal activity in the country.

An opal geyser exhibiting only sporadic activity. Located at an altitude of 2,210 thousand meters above sea level in Yellowstone Park. The first activity was recorded in 1947, then 2 years later, in 1952 and 1953. Since 1979, the fountain has risen above the ground almost every year, but the height of the water column does not exceed 9 meters. When the geyser is not active, it is an ordinary lake with a water temperature of + 56 degrees.

Old Sluzhaka is located in the same park, but is more popular, since the height of the fountain is from 32 to 56 meters. Moreover, the eruption occurs regularly, approximately every 35-120 minutes. That is, it is very easy to predict the event.

Fly is actually a thermal spring that became a geyser due to human activity. In 1916, they tried to dig a well in this place and, by pure chance, they broke through a geothermal pocket.

Located in Nevada, high above sea level - 12,300 meters. The height of the geyser is 1.5 meters. The walls of the geyser are constantly growing.

This unique permanent fountain is located on private property, and in order to see it, you need to ask permission from the land owners; they flatly refuse to sell the land to the state.

The Valley of Waimangu Geysers is the most famous hydrothermal system in the world, the date of its appearance is precisely known to scientists and local residents - 06/10/1886. It was on this day that an earthquake began, destroying the top of Mount Tarawera. There were hot springs in these places, but they were not buried under volcanic lava.

Already in 1900, a huge fountain of boiling water rose in Waimangu, the largest in height in the whole world at that time. This went on for 4 years; there was no way to guess when the new eruption would begin. In 1908, the geyser subsided completely. However, smaller fountains remain in the valley, for example, Pohutu, with a height of up to 30 meters, which is active every 20 minutes.

Chile

The El Tatio Valley ranks third in the ranking of hot geysers in the world, after the USA and Russia. Located at an altitude of 4.3 meters above sea level. There are several hundred fountains of different heights and with different periods of activity.

Near the geysers there are thermal wells where you can swim. It is recommended to come to the valley at dawn, when the geysers are most active and the water shimmers in different colors in the rays of the rising sun.

Debunking myths

It is believed that the geyser can become a volcano after some time. Indeed, this is a fountain of volcanic origin, but in this case the magma only serves as heating, and for the eruption of water to begin, there must be cracks, groundwater and reservoirs.

There is a strong opinion that life near geysers is impossible and even dangerous, because the minimum water temperature is +98 degrees. However, blue-green algae thrive in thermal valleys, preferring to grow where the temperature is above +45 degrees. In addition, rare flowers often grow in the valleys, for example, Chinese crabgrass. The larvae of some types of flies live in such places. Even if they fall into boiling water, they do not die, but, on the contrary, develop faster. And the wagtail builds nests and lays eggs in them in geyser valleys, that is, it uses the earth as a natural incubator.

You should not think that the water in geysers is useful for humans; on the contrary, about half of the elements of the periodic table can be found in it. For example, the concentration of arsenic exceeds the permissible norm for humans by 10 times, and antimony by 3 times.

Geysers - These are periodically gushing hot springs common in areas of modern or recently ceased volcanic activity. With an explosion and roar, a huge column of boiling water, shrouded in thick clouds of steam, flies up, sometimes reaching 80 m. The fountain beats for a while, then disappears, the clouds of steam dissipate, and peace sets in.

Some geysers emit water very low or only spray it. There are hot springs that look like puddles in which the water boils with bubbles. Usually around the geyser there is a pool or shallow crater several meters across. The edges of such a pool and the adjacent area are covered with deposits of silica contained in boiling water. These deposits are called geyserite. Near some geysers, geyserite cones up to several meters high are formed.

Before the eruption begins, the water rises, slowly fills the pool, boils, splashes out, then a fountain of boiling water flies up high with an explosion. Immediately after the geyser erupts, the pool is cleared of water, and at the bottom you can see a channel filled with water - a vent that goes deep into the ground.

Geysers are a very rare and beautiful natural phenomenon. They are found in Kamchatka, in one of the regions of Tibet at an altitude of 4700 m, in Iceland, New Zealand and North America. Small single geysers are found in some other volcanic areas of the globe.

In the eastern part of Kamchatka, south of Kronotsky Lake, the Geysernaya River flows. This river begins on the lifeless slopes of the extinct Kikhpinych volcano and in its lower reaches forms a valley up to 3 km wide. In this valley there are many hot springs, hot and warm lakes, etc.

Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka.

About 20 large geysers are known here, not counting small ones that splash water upward. just a few centimeters. The soil around them is warm and sometimes hot. Many geysers are surrounded by deposits of multi-colored geyserite, which sometimes cover large areas. For example, near the largest geyser in Kamchatka, the Giant, which throws out a fountain several tens of meters high, a geyserite area of ​​about a hectare has formed. It is all covered with sagging in the form of small stone roses of grayish-yellow color. Nearby is the Zhemchuzhny Geyser, so named for the shape and color of the geyserite deposits. Sugar Geyser is surrounded by beautiful deposits of soft pink geyserite. This is a pulsating source. Water splashes out of it in even bursts. Geyser Pervenets is located on a rocky hot platform almost on the very bank of the Shumnaya River, not far from the mouth of Geysernaya. The Pervenets pool, with a diameter and depth of about one and a half meters, is surrounded by large blocks of stones. If you look into it immediately after the eruption, you will see that there is absolutely no water in it, and at the bottom you can see a hole or channel that goes obliquely into the depths. A few minutes later, a rumble is heard from underground, similar to the noise of a motor: water begins to rise through the canal, gradually filling the pool. It boils, reaches the edges of the pool, rises higher and higher, splashes out, and finally, with an explosion, an oblique column of boiling water bursts out, shrouded in thick clouds of steam. A fountain 15-20 m high flows for 2-3 minutes, then disappears and the steam dissipates.

Geyser neck. Usually it is a cone-shaped accumulation of light siliceous tuff - geyserite.

Iceland has long been famous for its hot springs, boiling rivers and geysers. In the valleys of most of its rivers, rising clouds of vapor from boiling springs and geysers are visible. They are especially numerous in the southwestern part of the island. The famous Big Geyser with a pool diameter of about 18 m is interesting. The smooth bottom of the pool in the center turns into a rounded vent about 3 m in diameter, similar in shape to the bell of a pioneer forge. The eruptions of the Great Geysir are very beautiful. They are repeated every 20-30 hours and last about 3 hours. The height of the fountain reaches 30 m. Residents of harsh Iceland use hot springs to grow vegetables and fruits in greenhouses. The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, and most cities and towns are heated entirely by hot springs.

The largest geyser in Kamchatka is the Giant. It throws out a fountain of hot water several tens of meters away.

On the North Island in the New Zealand archipelago, the Waimangu geyser operated until 1904. It was the largest geyser in the world. During a strong eruption, its stream was thrown to a height of 450 m. But now this geyser has completely disappeared, which is associated with an 11 m drop in the water level in the nearby Lake Tarawera. The eruption of another New Zealand geyser, Crow's Nest (Crow's Nest) on the shores of Lake Waikato, also depends on the water level in the lake. If the water is high, the geyser erupts every 40 minutes; if the water level is low, the eruption occurs after 2 hours.

Geysers are periodically gushing hot springs common in modern or recent areas

Numerous hot springs and 200 active geysers are located in North America in Yellowstone National Park. It is a plateau cut by deep river valleys and lake basins, surrounded by the high snowy ridges of the Rocky Mountains. Several million years ago, very strong volcanic eruptions took place here, as a result of which this amazing corner of nature arose. The most famous geyser in Yellowstone Park is Old Faithful. For many years he has not stopped his activities.

Geyser operation diagram. Water under hydrostatic pressure in underground voids gradually heats up above 100°. When it reaches a critical temperature, it boils. The resulting steam noisily ejects from the geyser, carrying boiling water with it.

Geysers and hot springs bring enormous amounts of heat to the surface of the earth. Where does this heat come from? Geysers appear in areas where uncooled magma lies close to the earth's surface. The gases and vapors released from it, rising, travel a long way along the cracks. They dissolve in groundwater and heat it. Such water comes to the surface of the Earth in the form of bubbling hot springs, various mineral springs, and geysers. The mechanism of action of geysers that periodically eject water to the surface is not yet entirely clear. Scientists suggest that underground the geyser consists of caves (chambers) and connecting passages, cracks and channels found in frozen lava flows. These caves are filled with circulating hot underground waters, which, under the influence of superheated vapors rising from magma chambers, are heated to temperatures above the boiling point of water. Geyser eruptions depend on the size of underground chambers and channels, on the location of cracks through which heat flows from the magma chamber, on the amount and speed of groundwater inflow. It is known from physics that the boiling point of water at a pressure of 1 atm at sea level is 100°. If the pressure increases, the boiling point increases. The pressure of the water column in the geyser channel increases the boiling point of the water at the bottom of the channel. The heated lower layer of water becomes less dense and rises to the surface, and colder water from the surface goes down, where, warming up, it in turn rises, etc. Superheated water, rising through the channel, reaches the level at which the pressure The column of water decreases so much that it can boil, and the elasticity of water vapor can throw it upward with enormous force in the form of a boiling fountain.

Eruption of the Old Faithful geyser (North America).

If the geyser channel is wide and more or less regular in shape, the water mixes, boils and periodically splashes out to the surface in the form of a hot fountain. If the channel is tortuous and narrow, the water cannot be mixed and heated evenly. Due to the pressure from above the water column, the lower layers of water are overheated and do not turn into steam. Steam is released only in separate bubbles. Accumulating below, compressed steam tends to expand, puts pressure on the upper layer of water in the canal and raises it so much that it splashes onto the surface of the Earth in small fountains - harbingers of an eruption. The weight of the water column in the channel decreases, therefore, the pressure at depth decreases, and the superheated water, being above the boiling point, instantly turns into steam. The steam pressure from below is so great that it pushes water out of the channel - and a huge fountain of boiling water and clouds of steam are thrown into the air.

This is what some types of algae look like, adapted to life in hot water.

The cooled ejected water partially falls into the geyser bowl and enters its channel. Some of the water rises from the depths, but most of it usually seeps into the channel from the lateral rocks. It heats up in the channel, overheats in its lower parts, steam appears again, and emissions of the steam-water mixture occur, i.e., the geyser begins to erupt with full force.

Lakes of volcanic origin - calderas - are a fairly common phenomenon in Kamchatka.

Thus, the frequency of geyser action depends on the size of the channel (but not on its shape), the time it is filled with water and heated to temperatures slightly higher than the boiling point of water at the geyser location, which depends on the absolute height of this area.

Geyserites are deposits of silica contained in boiling water emitted by a geyser. Near some geysers, cones of geyserite from several centimeters to several meters are formed. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colors.