Planet Earth: An Illustrated History

Geyser
Like volcanoes and earthquakes, geysers and hot springs open windows onto the potent forces hidden beneath the skin of the planet. Fly Geyser, above, lies in the geyser-rich region around Black Rock Desert in Nevada, the dry bed of an ancient lake. This formation is in part man-made: farmers drilling for water in 1916 tapped into a hydrothermal aquifer that flooded the area. In the 1960s the geyser itself began spouting; it does so in a constant stream, unlike geysers such as Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, whose vented water flows back underground, only to be reheated and released on a steady timetable. The cone-shaped spouts above have formed over the years as emitted minerals solidify, and they are still growing.

• The Book, "TIME Planet Earth: An Illustrated History"