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geyser
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: geyser
Geysergī'zər [Icel.], hot spring from which water and steam are ejected periodically to heights ranging from a few to several hundred feet. Notable geysers are found in Iceland, New Zealand, and W United States, which are areas of recent volcanic activity. Geyser action in Iceland was studied by the German chemist R. W. Bunsen, whose explanation of it (1847) is generally accepted. Water, mainly from rainfall, is heated by absorbing hot gases or by contact with hot rocks. If it flows into a crooked tube or fissure in the ground, the heat fails to circulate by convection and is concentrated in one section of the tube, located well below the surface. Here the water may be superheated without boiling because of the pressure of the colder water above. When at last it does turn to steam it raises the upper part of the column of water, causing it to overflow. This reduces the pressure on the water below, a great deal is abruptly converted into steam, and the whole column—steam and water—is forced to erupt. Geyser activity is influenced by earth tides, which are caused by the moon's gravitational pull on the earth. Geysers often build cones of opaline silica called geyserite around their vents. Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park usually erupts at intervals of about 66 min, but it has become less regular in recent years. Mud geysers or mud volcanoes are eruptive mud springs. Geothermal generating plants, notably in California and New Zealand, use geysers to produce electricity.

See G. A. Waring, Thermal Springs of the United States and Other Countries of the World (rev. ed. 1965); T. S. Bryan, Geysers (2005).

The Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2001-09 Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Wikipedia search results for: Geyser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase. The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb gjósa, "to gush". The formation of geysers is due to particular hydrogeological conditions, which exist in only a few places on Earth, so they are a fairly rare phenomenon. Generally all geyser field sites are located near active volcanic areas, and the geyser effect is due to the proximity of magma. Generally, surface water works its way down to an average depth of around...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: geyser
Results 1 - 10  of 11
  • Atami

    Atami, city (1990 pop. 47,291), Shizuoka prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. It is a major resort, famed for its scenery and its hot springs. Atami was once the site of a geyser which, accordin...

  • D'Entrecasteaux Islands

    D'Entrecasteaux Islands, volcanic group, SW Pacific, SE of New Guinea, part of Papua New Guinea. Comprising the Fergusson, Goodenough, and Normanby islands, the group, with a total land area o...

  • Geysir

    Geysir, hot spring, SW Iceland, c.75 mi (120 km) W of Reykjavík. Although in medieval times it erupted three times daily, weeks now elapse between eruptions. The height and temperature of the ...

  • Yellowstone National Park

    Yellowstone National Park, 2,219,791 acres (899,015 hectares), the world's first national park (est. 1872), NW Wyo., extending into Montana and Idaho. It lies mainly on a broad plateau in the ...

  • Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm

    Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm, 1811–99, German scientist, educated at the Univ. of Göttingen, where he received his doctorate in 1830. He served on the faculties of several universities and was at He...

  • Kamchatka

    Kamchatka, peninsula, 104,200 sq mi (269,878 sq km), Kamchatka Territory, Russian Far East, separating the Sea of Okhotsk in the west from the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean in the east. Ext...

  • spring, in geology

    Spring, in geology, natural flow of water from the ground or from rocks, representing an outlet for the water that has accumulated in permeable rock strata underground. Some of the water that ...

  • energy, sources of

    Energy, sources of, origins of the power used for transportation, for heat and light in dwelling and working areas, and for the manufacture of goods of all kinds, among other applications. The...

  • Wyoming, state, United States

    Wyoming, one of the Rocky Mt. states of the W United States. It is bordered by South Dakota and Nebraska (E), Colorado and Utah (S), Idaho (W), and Montana (N). Area, 97,914 sq mi (253,597 sq ...

  • National Parks and Monuments (table)

    National Parks and Monuments1BFBattlefieldBPBattlefield ParkBSBattlefield SiteHPHistorical ParkHSHistoric SiteHTHistoric TrailISInternational Historic SiteLSLakeshoreMMMemorialMOMonumentMPMili...

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