Have you ever visited Yellowstone National Park and wondered how on earth Old Faithful functions? Or how any geyser functions for that matter? Geysers are mysterious landforms that have the ability to project large amounts of water and steam into the air. One of the most visited geysers is Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Old Faithful is an intricate geyser that erupts at unique times. Throughout this paper, you will learn about how geysers work, learn facts about Old Faithful and it’s eruptions, and finally some common misconceptions about Old Faithful. Geysers like Old Faithful can also be called hot springs. The appearance of hot water at Earth’s surface signifies that the underground water has come into contact with heated rocks
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This is where the system connects to the geyser’s heat source. Each geyser’s plumbing system is different. Some consist of a single, long vertical shaft while others connect to large areas of water beneath the Earth’s surface (How Geysers Form and Erupt). Certain types of soil are also much better for the plumbing formation (How Geysers Form and Erupt). These soils usually contain a high concentration of a volcanic rock that contains minerals that seal the lining of the plumbing system (How Geysers Form and Erupt). The mineral lining is very important to the geyser’s formation due to geyser’s operating under a large amount of pressure (How Geysers Form and Erupt). The plumbing system must be able to hold this pressure for the geyser to function (How Geysers Form and …show more content…
The eruption process begins as the water moves to the geyser’s plumbing through openings in the ground (Atteberry 2009). Due to the plumbing system being miles below, the water below the geyser’s plumbing is under a large amount of pressure from the water above it (Atteberry 2009). We can think of the system as a large pressure cooker or even boiling water. When water reaches the boiling point, the water starts to move and bubbles begin to rise to the surface. The more pressure that is exerted on the water, the more the water needs to move and the more energy overcomes the pressure which pushes bubbles to the surface (Atteberry
This is where the system connects to the geyser’s heat source. Each geyser’s plumbing system is different. Some consist of a single, long vertical shaft while others connect to large areas of water beneath the Earth’s surface (How Geysers Form and Erupt). Certain types of soil are also much better for the plumbing formation (How Geysers Form and Erupt). These soils usually contain a high concentration of a volcanic rock that contains minerals that seal the lining of the plumbing system (How Geysers Form and Erupt). The mineral lining is very important to the geyser’s formation due to geyser’s operating under a large amount of pressure (How Geysers Form and Erupt). The plumbing system must be able to hold this pressure for the geyser to function (How Geysers Form and …show more content…
The eruption process begins as the water moves to the geyser’s plumbing through openings in the ground (Atteberry 2009). Due to the plumbing system being miles below, the water below the geyser’s plumbing is under a large amount of pressure from the water above it (Atteberry 2009). We can think of the system as a large pressure cooker or even boiling water. When water reaches the boiling point, the water starts to move and bubbles begin to rise to the surface. The more pressure that is exerted on the water, the more the water needs to move and the more energy overcomes the pressure which pushes bubbles to the surface (Atteberry