Geysers are hot springs that forcefully eject water into the air. If you’ve ever seen a video of what happens when a Mentos is dropped into a bottle of diet cola, you get the idea.
Geysers come in two varieties.
One streams cold water out of its opening like a fountain, and is propelled by carbon dioxide gas.
The other is the more common variety, and it erupts like a small water volcano!
Most geysers are found in volcanic activity areas where water trickles down into small tunnels that run near magma chambers.
When the magma heats the water enough, it creates steam which forces the rest of the water up and out!
This phenomenon is pretty rare, so there’s a good chance you may have never seen a geyser in real life. Two of the most famous geysers in the world — Old Faithful and Steamboat — are located in Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming.
Old Faithful is known for its consistency, erupting every 44 to 125 minutes. This makes it a popular attraction for sightseers hoping to see a geyser erupting in person.
Steamboat is one of the tallest erupting geysers in Yellowstone, shooting water 90 meters, or more than 300 feet into the sky!
But these are just a few of the geysers in Yellowstone. Each year, an average of 500 geysers are seen throughout the park.
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