Sprat Issue 21 – Geysers Appearing

By James Donahue

Jack Sprat worries about what he calls "new" geysers that he believes are appearing all over the world. While we have found reports of a few new geysers of water, steam, mud and even sand, there also is evidence that old geysers that have long been dormant are springing back to life.

This strongly suggests that something different is happening deep in the Earth and that volcanic pressure is building.

Roy and Rosalee Ballinger of Whidbey Island, Washington are fighting to save their home after a geyser appeared in their yard, shooting blasts of hot water and steam an estimated 30 feet in the air. The geyser has since opened a hole about 50 feet wide and 200 feet deep that has all but swallowed their front yard. A five-century-old shade tree in the yard also disappeared. The odd thing about the Ballinger home is that it is located on the edge of a 200-foot cliff and the geyser emerged there instead of near the bottom of the cliff.

In 2005 a number of geysers all spewing mud and natural gas appeared throughout the countryside in rural Kingfisher County. Some of the geysers were from a few hundred feet apart to up to 12 miles apart, local authorities said.

In Yellowstone National Park, home of some of the most famous geysers in the world, the dormant Morning Geyser has awakened after remaining quiet for 18 years. Other long silent geysers, including the Norris, North Goggles and Fountain, have all become active after also staying quiet for a few years. Park officials say Morning Geyser sends hot water and steam 200 feet into the air when it blows.

In Northern California, in the Clear Lake geothermal field of geysers spanning an estimated 45 square miles, there was a swarm of minor earthquakes earlier this year. This field, which sits right over the great San Andreas fault is considered the largest field of geysers of their kind in the world. Like Yellowstone, Clear Lake is an ancient volcano that has not erupted in thousands of years. That the geysers are hot suggests that there is still an active magma chamber under the earth.

There are active geysers like these spewing their energy in key places all over the world. Some of them are known to exist deep under the oceans of the world.

Yes Mr. Sprat, there is a sense that the geysers are becoming slightly more active and that something important may be occurring deep in the ground.