Fly Geyser

The Fly Ranch was first homesteaded in the late 1800s by Fred Gerlach, son of Louis Gerlach, for whom the town of Gerlach was named.

Spring City Post Office was located here from June 1866 until October 1866 and then renamed to Hot Springs Post Office from October 1866 until August 1867.

The springs near Fly Ranch were referred to as Ward's Hot Springs in an 1886 geology report.

The 1893 Rand McNally map shows "Wards".

In 1916, a well was drilled and a travertine formation 5 meters high was created. This formation is known as "The Thumb." Today, there is very little, if any, water coming out of The Thumb.

In 1947, Overton discusses Director Carpenter's visit to the area and reports that Mr. Moore of the Pacific Portland Gypsum states that the cone has grown up two to three feet in the last six to ten years. Overton appears to name The Thumb: " Being near a reservoir, the name of Reservoir Fountain is appropriate"

In 1964, a well was drilled by Western Geothermal. This well started leaking and created the formation that is known as Fly Geyser. The red and green colors represent two different species of algae.

Fly Geyser sits on a dais of mud amidst ponds of warm water and thriving plants.

Fly Ranch was a part of the John Casey estate, until it was sold to Todd Jaksick (Bright Holland Corporation) in 1998. The property is generally off limits to visitors because of liability and vandalism concerns.

In September, 2010, there was a plan to buy Fly Geyser, see Archive.org: 13 May 2011 http://gotgeyser.com.

http://flyranchproject.org/ discusses Burning Man efforts at purchasing the land.

• 
  Fly Geyser, Feb 1965
• 
  Fly Geyser, 1975
• 
  Fly Geyser, May 2005
• 
  March 24, 2007
• 
  March 24, 2007
• 
  March 24, 2007
• 
  2010 (Wikipedia)

See Also

• Fly Ranch
• Fred Gerlach
• March 24, 2007 Fly Ranch tour photos

Resources

• Wikipedia
• GNIS, Fly Reservoir Dam
  • Citation: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dams and Reservoirs List, Washington, DC. 31-Mar-1981. A listing of impounded bodies of water and associated information.
• GNIS, Fly Reservoir
  • Citation: U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Post Phase I Map Revisions. Various editions. 01-Jan-2000.
• GNIS, Wards Hot Spring
  • Citation: Garside, L. J. and Schilling, J. H. 'Thermal Waters of Nevada' Reno: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 91, 1979, 163 pp. Describes hot springs and hot water seeps of Nevada with location information and map at 1:1,000,000. p130
  • Variant: Fly Ranch Hot Spring: Citation: Garside, L. J. and Schilling, J. H. 'Thermal Waters of Nevada' Reno: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 91, 1979, 163 pp. Describes hot springs and hot water seeps of Nevada with location information and map at 1:1,000,000. p130
  • Hualapai Flat Hot Spring: Citation: Garside, L. J. and Schilling, J. H. 'Thermal Waters of Nevada' Reno: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 91, 1979, 163 pp. Describes hot springs and hot water seeps of Nevada with location information and map at 1:1,000,000. p130
  • Wards Ranch Hot Spring: Citation: Garside, L. J. and Schilling, J. H. 'Thermal Waters of Nevada' Reno: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Bulletin 91, 1979, 163 pp. Describes hot springs and hot water seeps of Nevada with location information and map at 1:1,000,000. p130
    • 1925 Washoe County Directory lists a Robert Ward.
    • See Gerlach Land and Livestock Company for another Ward.
• Google Map
• Las Vegas Sun, January 29, 2010 "Geyser on private land chosen as attraction to draw tourists to state."
• November 2001 Reno Gazette Journal article

Images

• Photograph collection in the Special Collections Department of the University of Nevada, Reno Library
  • UNR Carpenter Collection (UNRS-P1988-55) Descriptions
    • UNRS-P1988-55-1095 "Reservoir fountain twenty-four miles north of Gerlach." (Includes online photo)
    • UNRS-P1988-55-737 "Reservoir Fountain" 24 miles north of Gerlach to east ¼ mile of Nevada 34 Highway. 18 May 1946. (Duplicate of 1095 above?)
    • UNRS-P1988-55-722 "Reservoir Fountain" 24 miles north of Gerlach to east ¼ mile of Nevada 34 Highway. 18 May 1946.
    • UNRS-P1988-55-0078 "Reservoir Fountain" 24 miles north of Gerlach. East ¼ mile Nevada Highway 34, Washoe County. 18 May 1946.
  • UNRS-P1997-51-2154 Thomas Woodnutt Miller: 2154 - 2158 "Geyser, northern Washoe County between Gerlach and Littlefield.
• Nevada Historical Museum Photography Collection
  • Washoe Book 0105, 0109 Fly Geyser 1969
  • 8059 Black Rock: Fly Geyser Scott T. Smith "Copyrighted do not copy"
• Fly Geyser Nevada (cmdrmark.com)
  • pictures (cmdrmark.com)
• Online Fly Geyser Jigsaw Puzzle
• http://green.nationalgeographic.com/environment/wallpaper/blackrockgeysermineral.html
• Some older photos
• Nevada's Last Chance Scenic Places
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: photography, "Nature's Best" Landscape Winner
• Virtual Reality views
• http://www.uga.edu/srel/Nevada_Hot_Springs/travel-4-2004.htm
• http://blog.visitrenotahoe.com/2006/06/14/fly-geyser-one-of-nevadas-little-surprises/
• http://planetoddity.com/a-geyser-not-like-any-other-geyser/
• http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/12/fly-geyser-not-quite-of-this-world.html
• http://www.pixelchrome.com/blog/?p=5369
• http://www.wonders-world.com/2011/02/fly-geyser-in-black-rock-desert.html

Geology

• Crewdson, R.A., 1975, Geophysical studies in Gerlach-Hualapai Flat-Black Rock Desert region, in The Colorado School of Mines Nevada Geothermal Study, Progress report #4, NSF Grant GI 43866, eds. L.T. Grose and G.V.
• Shopland, Robert C. of Western Geophysical Co., Final report heat flow survey in Gerlach and Fly Ranch areas, Washoe and Pershing Counties, Nevada, for Sunoco Energy Development Co., pp. 31, May 1978.
• Temperature gradient hole data, Fly Ranch, Nevada KGRA trade, SUNEDCO, Jun. 77.
• Sunoco Energy Development Co., Temperature depth data from Fly Ranch and Gerlach, Nevada 1966, 1972, 1973.
• Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Geothermal slides including Fly Geyser
• Fly Ranch section of Larry J. Garside, John Harold Schilling, Mackay School of Mines, "Thermal waters of Nevada," Volume 91 of Bulletin (Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology)
  • Archive.org version of the above with working links to some of the images.
  • Washoe County chapter of "Thermal waters of Nevada"
• 2005 Public notice about a meeting to discuss injecting Portable Toilet water from Burning Man at Fly Ranch: Public Notice, Authorization to Apply Portable Toilet Fluid (Permit), Wiki version of the notice
• Albert Charles Peale, "Lists and Analyses of the Mineral Springs of the United States (A Preliminary Study)," p. 200, 1886. Mentions Ward's Hot Springs