Lakeview Geyser EarthCache
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This Earthcache is easily accessed off Highway 395, just
on the north edge of the town of Lakeview, Oregon. You can access
the geyser by pulling into Hunter's Hot Springs & Resort off
HWY 395. There is a large parking area right next to the coords and
can be easily visited by everyone! You can also view the geyser
from Geyser View Lane just north of the coords. Information best
gathered by pulling into resort. No fee to enter
resort.
geyser (gi-zer) is a spring characterized by intermittent
discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour
phase (steam). The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an
erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes
from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb itself from Old
Norse..
Geysers are temporary geological features. The life span of a
geyser is, at the most, only a few thousand years. Geysers are
generally associated with volcanic areas. As the water boils, the
resultant pressure forces a superheated column of steam and water
to the surface through the geyser's internal plumbing. The
formation of geysers specifically requires the combination of three
geologic conditions that are usually found in volcanic
terrain.
INTENSE HEAT - The heat needed for geyser formation comes from
magma that needs to be near the surface of the earth. The fact that
they need heat much higher than normally found near the earth's
surface is the reason they are associated with volcanoes or
volcanic areas. The pressures encountered at the areas where the
water is heated makes the boiling point of the water much higher
than at normal atmospheric pressures.
WATER - The water that is ejected from a geyser must travel
underground through deep, pressurized fissures in the earth's
crust.
A PLUMBING SYSTEM - In order for the heated water to form a geyser,
a plumbing system is required. This includes a reservoir to hold
the water while it is being heated. Geysers are generally aligned
along faults. The plumbing system is made up of a system of
fractures, fissures, porous spaces and sometimes cavities.
Constrictions in the system are essential to the building up of
pressure before an eruption. Ultimately, the temperatures near the
bottom of the geyser rise to a point where boiling begins; steam
bubbles rise to the top of the column. As they burst through the
geyser's vent, some water overflows or splashes out, reducing the
weight of the column and thus the pressure on the water underneath.
With this release of pressure, the superheated water flashes into
steam, boiling violently throughout the column. The resulting froth
of expanding steam and hot water then sprays out of the geyser
hole.
ERUPTIONS - Geyser activity, like all hot spring activity, is
caused by surface water gradually seeping down through the ground
until it meets rock heated by magma. The geothermally heated water
then rises back toward the surface by convection through porous and
fractured rocks. Geysers differ from non-eruptive hot springs in
their subterranean structure; many consist of a small vent at the
surface connected to one or more narrow tubes that lead to
underground reservoirs of water. As the geyser fills, the water at
the top of the column cools off, but because of the narrowness of
the channel, convective cooling of the water in the reservoir is
impossible. The cooler water above presses down on the hotter water
beneath, not unlike the lid of a pressure cooker, allowing the
water in the reservoir to become superheated, i.e. to remain liquid
at temperatures well above the standard-pressure boiling point. The
rocks in the nearby region produce a material called geyserite.
Geyserite—mostly silicon dioxide, is dissolved from the rocks
and gets deposited on the walls of the geyser's plumbing system and
on the surface. The deposits make the channels carrying the water
up to the surface pressure-tight. This allows the pressure to be
carried all the way to the top and not be leaked out into the loose
gravel or soil that are normally under the geyser fields.
Eventually the water remaining in the geyser cools back to below
the boiling point and the eruption ends; heated groundwater begins
seeping back into the reservoir, and the whole cycle begins again.
The duration of eruptions and time between successive eruptions
vary greatly from geyser to geyser; Strokkur in Iceland erupts for
a few seconds every few minutes, while Grand Geyser in the United
States erupts for up to 10 minutes every 8–12 hours.
The Lakeview geyser is not the traditional geyser that you might
think about when you imagine Old Faithful in Yellowstone National
Park. It works exactly the same….but was not born that way.
Eastern Oregon is know for it’s volcanic activity. The nearby
Cascades are part of the Ring of Fire, with volcanoes throughout.
Magma runs very close to the earth’s surface in this part of
Oregon. In Oregon’s history magma has reached the surface and
caused great flows of lava. Continued magma activity below the
surface has caused parts of Oregon to bulge, natural hot springs
and in this case an active geyser.
Let’s talk about the birth of this geyser. In the
1920’s the residents of Lake County were attempting to drill
a water well. They did not get very far….they only drilled
about 25 feet before they hit a geothermal pocket. The very first
eruption of the Lakeview geyser took place. It did not stop at just
one. Ever since this attempt at tapping into the earth’s vast
reservoirs of water…a geyser was born. The eruptions here
have been fairly consistent and pretty exciting. Though not the
traditionally born geyser it remains the west’s only active
geyser and a not very well known secret little gem in Southeastern
Oregon. When standing near the geyser and the eruption begins you
can feel the power of this great planet beneath your feet..
To log this Earthcache you must meet the requirements listed below.
Please email me the answers to the following questions. Do not post
answers in your log. Failure to meet these basic requirements will
result in log deletion.
1. What is the name of this geyser located just north of
Lakeview?
2. Recently the geyser had not erupted from about June, 2009 to
Feb, 2011 and periodically stops throughout the year....what
phenomenon would you suspect is causing this?
3. If for some reason it is erupting while you are there....share
the intervals and estimate the heighth of the witnessed
eruption.
4. What is the elevation of the posted coords?
5. Lastly take a picture of you and your GPSr standing in front of
the geyser. (optional) No armchair caching please.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)