Fountain of hot water and steam. Geysers. Suwako, Nagano, Japan

Lesson - travel "Volcanism". (slide number 1)

Lesson Objectives:

Educational:

to expand and deepen knowledge about volcanoes and their structure, to acquaint them with the geography of their location;

identify the causes of volcanoes, geysers and hot springs;

Developing:

develop the ability to compare, analyze, draw conclusions;

to promote the aesthetic education of schoolchildren on the example of works of literature and art;

Educational:

to form ideas about professions related to the sciences of the geographical direction, to cultivate interest in the subject.

Equipment: multimedia equipment, presentation, atlases, lesson flow charts.

Lesson type: lesson the formation of skills and abilities.

Basic terms and concepts: volcano, volcano vent and crater, lava, volcanic eruption, volcanic focus, active and extinct volcanoes, geyser.

During the classes

Ι. Organizing time

Today our lesson will take place in unusual shape. I want to invite everyone present to take a journey into the depths of the lithosphere. Let's smile at each other, tune in to the search and creativity and start the lesson.

ΙΙ. Update basic knowledge and students' skills.

But before we go on a trip, we will collect the knowledge that we may need on the road. I propose to solve a crossword puzzle. It encodes the concepts that we studied in previous lessons.

Work with slides No. 2-10 Crossword

1. Oscillations propagating in the Earth from the sources of earthquakes are seismic ...

2. The place on the earth's surface where the most significant destruction occurs.

4. The mainland of the southern hemisphere, formed as a result of the split of the mainland Pangea.

5. Mantle layer located at a depth of 150 km from the earth's surface.

6. A device that captures the vibrations of the earth's crust.

7. The focus of the earthquake

9. Waves resulting from an earthquake.

Baggage collected. Let's hit the road!

ΙΙΙ. Learning new material.

Magma rushes out through the vent

She really needs an exit from the crater,

If the passage to the surface is given to her,

So the terrible woke up .... volcano

What natural phenomenon will be discussed today? (about volcanoes)

Reporting the topic and objectives of the lesson. slide number 11

Children, each of you has a lesson card on your desk that you will work with as you study a new topic. Write down the theme of the lesson:

1. Representation of ancient people about volcanoes.

What associations does the word "volcano" evoke in you? ( children often answer "fire-breathing mountain").

Let's listen to Zhenya Filinkov and find out where the name of this natural phenomenon came from. (Annex 1) slide number 12

2. How volcanoes formslide number 13

In the upper part of the mantle there is a layer of the asthenosphere, the substance of which is in a viscous state and has a high temperature. Here is formed magma- the molten substance of the mantle, saturated with gases. Under pressure, magma rises up cracks in the earth's crust. This phenomenon has been named magmatism.

Distinguish between internal and external magmatism.

slide number 14

With internal magmatism, magma does not reach the earth's surface and freezes in cracks in the earth's crust. If this happens close to the surface of the earth, then low mountains are formed - laccoliths, which are also called "failed" volcanoes. An example of laccoliths is Mount Ayu-Dag in the Crimea.

External magmatism is also called volcanism.

Volcanism is accompanied by underground rumble, explosions, earthquakes. It is associated with the release of magma to the surface of the land or the bottom of the ocean, which is called an eruption.

What are volcanoes?

slide number 15

Volcanoes- these are mountains of a conical shape, composed of the products of their eruption. (exercise 1)

3. The structure of the volcano.slide number 16

Let's consider the scheme "Structure of the volcano". (task 2)

Under pressure, molten magma rises to the earth's surface through a channel called volcano crater.

A bowl-shaped depression forms at the top of the volcano - crater. From it to earth's surface lava pours out, gases, water vapor come out, ash and stones fly out (volcanic bombs).

There may be several craters. They are called lateral.

Magma erupted on the surface, loses part of the gases and turns into lava. Solidified lava forms volcano cones.

slide number 17

A volcanic eruption is one of the most formidable phenomena on Earth. During it, the earth trembles. With a roar, the volcano throws out clouds of hot ash, red-hot lava flows along the slopes. The temperature of fiery rivers exceeds 1000 degrees. Volcanic gases rush down the slope at a speed of 300 km / h, burning everything in their path.

Slide #18 Volcano eruption video

4. Silent witnesses of volcanic activity.

A volcanic eruption always strikes with power, a formidable, but magnificent picture, at the sight of which you understand the power natural processes. Volcanic eruptions can lead to catastrophic consequences, often accompanied by great loss of life. Suffice it to recall the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy. This eruption destroyed three rich ancient Roman cities - Stabia, Herculaneum and Pompeii.

slide number 19

Ponomareva Nastya prepared interesting information O tragic fate these ancient cities. (appendix 2) Slide #19-20

Years passed. Soil formed on the surface of the ash and lava, new settlements arose. Residents of new cities began to find dishes and household utensils in the ground. They dug up a whole street. And appeared to the eyes of people ancient city Pompeii, which was buried many years ago...

5. Types of volcanoes.(task 3) slide number 20

According to their activity, volcanoes are divided into 3 groups:

There are about 850 in the world existing volcanoes, although these figures are different sources information are different. There are active volcanoes on every continent except Australia.

slide number 21

These are the volcanoes Klyuchevskaya Sopka (the highest active volcano in Eurasia - 4750m), Krakatoa, Fujiyama, and others.

There are volcanoes, about the eruption of which no information has been preserved. About them active life in the past, the cone-shaped shape of the mountain and the crater at the top testify.

This extinct volcanoes. They include vlk. Elbrus in mountain system Caucasus, Volk. Kilimanjaro in Africa

There is also asleep volcanoes. These are those that were considered extinct, but they began to erupt again.

slide number 22 Almost half of the active volcanoes are located in areas of seismic belts.

slide number 23 Pacific Ring of Fire. Region in pacific ocean, this is a strip of active volcanoes, a belt of active volcanic activity. In total, 328 active volcanoes are located in this zone.

slide number 24

Volcanoes form not only on land, but also at the bottom of the oceans. If the volcano rises above the surface of the water, then it forms an island of volcanic origin. For example, Hawaiian, Kuril Islands.

6. Volcanologist is a dangerous profession. slide number 25

The study of volcanoes is carried out by people whose profession is one of the most dangerous in the world - volcanologists. One of the representatives of this profession was the Polish volcanologist and writer Garun Taziev. He descended into the craters of many volcanoes in the world, wrote many books, made several films.

The lines that you will now hear describe in a colorful and concise way the hard work of volcanologists. And Natasha Vasilyeva will read them to us.

(Appendix 3)

7. Hot springs and geysers.

slide number 26

Hot springs are found in areas of active and extinct volcanoes. The water temperature of the hot springs is quite high. In winter, when the air temperature is -25 ◦С, there are many bathers in reservoirs filled with water from hot springs. This water also heats the premises.

Hot springs flow quietly from cracks in the earth's crust.

Sources that periodically emit hot water and steam are called geysers. slide number 27(task 4)

How to explain this mystery of nature?

Geysers - these are periodically gushing hot springs, common in areas of modern or recently stopped volcanic activity. With an explosion and a roar, a huge column of boiling water, wrapped in thick clouds of steam, flies up, sometimes reaching 80 m. The fountain beats for a while, then disappears, the clouds of steam dissipate, and peace sets in.

slide number 28

The scheme of the geyser. Pressurized water in underground cavities gradually heats up above 100°. When the critical temperature is reached, it boils. The resulting steam is noisily ejected from the geyser, carrying boiling water with it.

Some geysers throw water very low or just spray it. Geysers are a very rare and beautiful natural phenomenon. They are found in Kamchatka, Iceland, New Zealand and North America. Small solitary geysers are found in some other volcanic areas. the globe.

slide number 29

In Russia, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, there is a Valley of Geysers. There are 20 large and 300 small geysers.

Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka.

Slide number 30

The largest geyser in Kamchatka is the Giant, which throws out a fountain with a diameter of up to 3 m and a height of 40-50 m. It gushes every 5-6 hours. The water of the geyser is mineral, it contains salts of various substances. Cooling on the surface of the earth, it resembles snow - these are layers of the mineral geyserite.

Video "Geysers"

ΙV. Consolidation of the studied material.

Practical work No. Drawing on the contour map volcanoes

slide number 31

Using the Card lithospheric plates atlas s. we will now plot the volcanoes Vesuvius, Krakatau, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Hekla, Kilimanjaro, Fujiyama, Orizaba, Cotopaxi, Llulyaillako, Cameroon on a contour map. Find them in the atlas. Have you already noticed how the volcanoes are marked?

* Volk. Vesuvius

The names of the objects are written along the parallels. (task 5)

2. task number 6 "Find a couple" slide number 32

Summing up the lesson.

The journey from volcano to volcano in our lesson is coming to an end, and I would like you to read, choose and complete one of the sentences.

Homework.. slide number 33

Textbook material pp. 58 - 63.

Annex 1

The word "volcano" comes from the Latin "volcanus", which means "fire, flame".

Near Italy, in the Iberian Sea, washing the shores of the Apennine Peninsula, there is a small island of Vulcano. It was dominated by a seemingly inconspicuous mountain. But she has long, from time to time, reminded of herself. At first, a strong rumble was heard, from which the whole island shuddered. Then black smoke, bright red flames burst out of its top, hot stones flew out. It was very frightening local residents. Watching the terrible sight, they believed that there, deep in the bowels of the earth, were the possessions of the god of fire and blacksmith craft Volcano... Therefore, the ancient Romans called the fire-breathing mountains volcanoes. This name has come down to our days, although scientists have long established real reasons volcanic eruptions.

Annex 2

Vesuvius was a picturesque mountain. He towered majestically mediterranean sea. The sweetest grapes grew on the slopes of the mountain, and three cities flourished on the coast - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia. Tragedy overtook the city of Pompeii on August 24, 79 AD. e. The whole horror of this natural disaster is reflected on the painting by Karl Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii".

The people, mad with fear and horror, fled. They stumbled and fell, dying right on the streets. Many found their death under the ruins of houses, were crushed by roofs that collapsed under the weight of ash. The city was covered with a layer of ash up to 3 meters thick.

Annex 3.

We are the sons of the volcano...

The crater rumbles, beckoning.

We must find out

Secrets of the God of Fire.

The slag is hot underfoot

The cinder cone is steep,

The bomb flies like a ball

Bombs smoke all around.

Uphill steps are heavy,

Hail runs down the helmets.

Stubborn, stubborn and evil

We're going straight to hell.

Ashes in the eyes and in the mouth,

Explosions like the light of lightning,

Tar black sweat

Dripping from our faces.

Eater sour gas-

Grit your teeth, hold on!

Life is given to us once

We put life on the line!

Routing(at the bottom)

Lesson topic ………………………

A volcano is …………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………

Complete the scheme "The structure of the volcano"

Volcano groups

Fill in the diagram

vent

Cup-shaped depression at the top of a volcano

Crater

Sources that periodically emit hot water and steam are called

Volcano

Mountains of a conical shape, composed of the products of their eruption.

Geyser

The channel through which magma moves to the earth's crust

(video about geysers)

Anchoring

- So, we have studied new topic! To summarize, what did you learn in the lesson?

Children's answers to quiz questions.

What is the name of the depression at the top of a volcano?Crater

What is the name of the erupted magma? Lava

What is the name of the channel through which the lava rises?vent

What is the name of the highest volcano in Russia?Klyuchevskaya Sopka

What is the name of the gushing hot springs?Geysers

What are volcanoes that have never erupted in human history called?Extinct

A complex process in which magma rises from the bowels of the earth, breaking through the earth's crust, pours out to the surface? Volcanism

Name the products volcanic eruptions? (Gases, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, volcanic ash, volcanic bombs

Lesson summary.

So, today, during the lesson, the guys managed to form ideas about the formation, structure, types of volcanic eruptions. Thank you all for your work. The teacher gives each student an assessment, which he argues

Homework.

Paragraph. Reading the paragraph, make a crossword on the topic: “Volcanoes and geysers”. Designate on contour map extinct and active volcanoes: Cotopaxi, Kilimanjaro, Vesuvius, Etna, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Krakatoa, Hekla, Elbrus.

Geysers (Isl. geysir, the name of one of the sources of the "Golden Ring", from Il. geysa - gush) are periodically gushing hot springs, common in areas of modern or recently stopped volcanic activity. With an explosion and a roar, a huge column of boiling water, shrouded in thick clouds of steam, flies up, sometimes reaching 80 m. With one geyser eruption, more than 1000 liters of water can be ejected. The fountain beats for a while, then disappears, the clouds of steam dissipate, and peace sets in.

Geysers can take the form of small truncated cones with rather steep slopes, low, very gentle domes, small bowl-shaped depressions, hollows, irregular shape yam, etc.; in their bottom or walls there are outlets of tubular or slit-like channels.

emergence

Some geysers throw water very low or just spray it. There are hot springs, similar to puddles, in which the water boils with bubbles. In spouting springs, before the beginning of the eruption, the water rises slowly, fills the pool, boils, splashes, then a fountain of boiling water flies high with an explosion, which beats for a while, then disappears, the clouds of steam dissipate, and peace sets in. Immediately after the eruption of the geyser, the pool is freed from water, and at the bottom of it you can see a channel filled with water - a vent that goes deep into the ground.

Water release

Geysers occur in those areas where, at a depth of several hundred meters, there is a rapid increase in water temperature to the boiling point. The outlet channel of the geyser has bends that prevent steam from escaping to the surface and cooling water by convection. If, as a result of the formation of vapor bubbles at a depth, the liquid level in the channel rises so much that it will outflow to the surface, then the pressure drop can lead to the boiling of the rest of the liquid, the formation of a large volume of superheated steam and the ejection of a jet of water to the surface. great height. It is believed that most of the erupted water enters the geyser channel through cracks from the earth's surface. However high temperatures rocks indicate the presence of recently solidified or solidified magma at shallow depths; therefore, part of the water may also be of magmatic origin. The water emitted by the geyser is relatively clean, slightly mineralized (1-2 grams per liter), according to chemical composition- chloride-sodium or chloride-hydrocarbonate-sodium, containing relatively much silica, from which a rock close to opal is formed at the exit of the channel and on the slopes - geyserite. At the opening of the outlet channel, deposits of siliceous tuff (geyserite) form a cone several meters high.

Regular and irregular geysers

There are regular and irregular geysers. For the former, the duration of the cycle as a whole and its individual stages is almost constant, for the latter it is variable, for different geysers the duration of individual stages is measured in minutes and tens of minutes, the rest stage lasts from several minutes to several hours or days.

Where do they meet

Geysers are a very rare and beautiful natural phenomenon. They are in Kamchatka, in one of the regions of Tibet at an altitude of 4700 m, in Iceland, New Zealand and North America (Yellowstone National Park). Small solitary geysers are found in some other volcanic regions of the globe. In the eastern part of Kamchatka, south of Lake Kronotskoye, the Geysernaya River flows. This river begins on the lifeless slopes of the extinct volcano Kikhpinych and in the lower reaches forms a valley up to 3 km wide. There are many hot springs, hot and warm lakes, etc. in this valley.

About 20 large geysers are known here, not counting the small ones that splash water up only a few centimeters. The soil around them is warm and sometimes hot.

Iceland has long been famous for its hot springs, boiling rivers and geysers.

On the North Island in the archipelago New Zealand until 1904, the Waimangu geyser operated. It was the largest geyser in the world. During a strong eruption, its jet was ejected to a height of 450 m. But now this geyser has completely disappeared, which is associated with a decrease in the water level by 11 m in the nearby lake Tarawera. The eruption of another New Zealand geyser - Crows Nest (Crow's Nest) on the shores of Lake Waikato also depends on the water level in the lake. If the water is high, the geyser erupts every 40 minutes, if the water level is low, the eruption occurs after 2 hours.

Geysers and their usual satellites, hot springs, are most often found in regions of volcanic activity. They occur when groundwater seeps deep into the earth, is heated by hot gases and lava and remains there until it breaks to the surface of the earth. When the water is looking for a way out, the pressure also increases.

In the end, it reaches such a value that steam breaks through the cracks outward in the form of water columns and fountains.

The geysers get their name from a hot spring in southwestern Iceland, named Geyser, which means “fountain” in Icelandic, by the first Norwegian colonists.

VALLEY OF TEN THOUSAND SMOKE

In 1916, four years after the eruption of the Katmai volcano, three American scientists, led by the famous volcanologist Griggs, climbed the rocky taiga pass of the Alaska Range. From its height of two kilometers, they saw a wide flat valley going north, along the entire length of which white fountains of smoke were roaring out of the ground.

Griggs named this unusual area the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

On old map, created half a century earlier by Russian topographers, a wooded, narrow and deep valley of the Ukak River was shown at this place. Now, instead of the valley, there was a smooth, lifeless plain twenty kilometers long and five kilometers wide, dotted with many white fountains. Upon closer examination, it turned out that it was not smoke, but steam. But this circumstance did nothing to clarify the mystery of the origin of ten thousand "smoke".

Only subsequent expeditions by Griggs to this volcanic region helped unravel the mystery of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. It turned out that shortly before the explosion, an eruption began from the side crater of Katmai, and perhaps from cracks on its slopes, but not lava, but fine volcanic sand. A cloud of red-hot grains of sand, each of which was wrapped in hot compressed gas, behaved like a liquid and flowed freely along the slope of the volcano into the valley.

Along the edges of the future Valley of a Thousand Smokes, the layer of sand reached thirty meters, and in the middle it exceeded two hundred. The trees on the slopes were felled and charred by the scorching sandy river. When the flow of volcanic dust stopped and the gases escaped, the hot sand grains soldered together, forming a hard stone armor of volcanic tuff.

But in some places cracks formed in it, and the waters of the Ukak River and numerous springs on its banks, evaporating under the hot "armor", burst upward in the form of white jets of steam.

Over the years, the cover of tuffs began to gradually cool, and already the expedition of the French volcanologist Taziev, who visited the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes half a century later, found only five thousand fountains of steam in it, and even in those the height and temperature of the jets became much less.

Not even forty years will pass, the venerable volcanologist sadly stated, as the lower layers of tuffs will cool down completely, and then this wonderful natural monument will lose its most spectacular decoration.

Alas, Taziev was right. There is no more smoke in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes!

YELLOWSTON GEYSERS

In the very heart rocky mountains, at the junction of the states of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho is the "pearl of America" ​​- Yellowstone national park. Amazing nature of this unique corner of the Cordillera - its geysers and waterfalls, petrified forest and deposits of hot springs frozen in white cascades.

The park covers an area of ​​almost 900 thousand hectares on a high mountain (up to 2500 meters) plateau between the Gallatin and Absarot ranges, reaching 3800 meters in height. Both the plateau and the ranges are composed of volcanic rocks. Solidified lava flows can be seen throughout the park, and a huge cliff rises in the valley of the Obsidian River, made entirely of volcanic glass. But traces of recent volcanic activity have remained not only in the form of lava flows.

Here and there in the valley of the Yellowstone River, cutting through the plateau, there are hot springs, geysers and puddles, and even whole “boilers” of hot gurgling mud. Hydrothermal phenomena reach the greatest scale on the banks of the Fiery River. Here, in two areas - the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins - there are more than 40 geysers and thousands of hot springs.

Geyser pools of Yellowstone national park, certainly the most grandiose of all the geyser fields of the globe, although similar spouting hot springs are also found in Kamchatka, Iceland and New Zealand.

Some of the Yellowstone geysers spurt over 100 meters, with the tallest fountain over 115 meters. The most powerful geyser ejects almost 4,000 tons of water at the time of the eruption ten meters up!

The periodicity of the "work" of these natural fountains is striking. Some of them erupt with an interval of 2-3 years, others salute with an interval of several days, and many small ones, two or three meters high, strike every 3-4 minutes.

The most popular among tourists is the geyser "Old Faithful". It erupts with consistent accuracy every 65 minutes. A jet of boiling water with a diameter of half a meter takes off at the same time by 50 meters. The eruption lasts 4-5 minutes, and then there is a break. But exactly an hour and five minutes later, a new outburst occurs, followed by another lull after 5 minutes.

Geyser "Giant" is called "water volcano". With an interval of four days, he throws a mighty column of boiling water to a height of 90 meters.

The original mud geyser "Big flower pot": in an oval stone bowl in clubs of steam, the smallest particles of white and white china clay boil and bubble. pink flowers; and particles of different shades do not mix with each other.

Geyser "Minute Man" once a minute throws into the air a bouquet of many bluish jets, vaguely resembling the figure of a man in a hoodie.

The Excelsior geyser, one of the largest in the world, is called the diva of Yellowstone. Its jet beats from the lake with rocky shores. Before the eruption, the surface of the lake begins to worry, it is enveloped in clouds of steam, and then a giant column of boiling water with a diameter of 10 meters and a height of almost 100 meters breaks out exactly from the center of the reservoir with a menacing roar!

Clouds of steam rise even higher - up to 300 meters. The surroundings resound with whistles, roars and roars, explosions are heard underground, stones fly high into the air, and the earth trembles underfoot. But gradually the rumble subsides, the column of water becomes lower and suddenly disappears as suddenly as it appeared.

Around springs and geysers, a layer of yellowish-white loose rock, geyserite, is deposited on the surface of the earth. It is formed from silica dissolved in hot water, which precipitates when it cools. Often the mouth of a geyser or source is a rather high geyserite cone with a crater hole at the top, and then it really resembles a volcano, only spewing not lava, but boiling water.

At the northern border of the reserve there is another unique object - Mammoth Hot Springs. Here, abundantly flowing hot waters cooled and deposited calcium salts dissolved in them, forming picturesque terraces on the slopes, reminiscent of frozen waterfalls. The terraces have been given their own names: Terrace of Jupiter, Minerva, Main and others.

The terrace of Jupiter is especially striking in its fabulous beauty. This is a hill more than 100 meters high, along the steep slope of which rows of white, blue, green and yellow vases and bowls made of limestone tuff - travertine descend in multi-colored cascades. Among them - matte and sparkling, like crystal, smooth and ribbed, dry and filled with hot water.

Water, flowing down the walls of the cascades, gives them the appearance of icy frozen waterfalls. The sizes of the bowls range from a few centimeters to 30 meters. The deposition of travertine occurs at an astonishing rate. A knife, a key or a stone lowered into the water in the evening is covered with a shiny crust of crystals by morning, and a week later the travertine layer reaches a centimeter or more.

It is not easy to find a place on our planet where so many amazing miracles nature.

ROTORUA VALLEY

There are so many amazing, exotic and one-of-a-kind natural phenomena and objects in New Zealand that no other region of the Earth can compare with it in this respect.

But, of course, the main miracle of New Zealand is the famous Rotorua Valley. It is located in the center of the North Island on the Volcanic Plateau. The Maori, longtime inhabitants of the island, named the valley Takiva-Waiariki, which means "Land of Hot Water".

Even on the streets of the town of Rotorua, you can see streams of white steam beating from the cracks in the sidewalks. Hundreds of hot and cold springs are located in the vicinity of the town and on the shores of the lake of the same name.

Naturally, the main attraction of Rotorua is its famous geysers. There are dozens of them here, and jets, hitting four or five meters in height, envelop both the shore of Lake Rotorua and the outskirts of the village in clouds of steam.

The most powerful geyser - Pohutu - throws a jet of boiling water thirty meters up. Water eruption lasts for an hour, or even longer. Sometimes several geysers hit at the same time, and sometimes they “work” alternately, as if trying to outdo each other with the power of the jets and the unusual shape of the fountain.

White siliceous deposits that adorn the holes of natural fountains have yellow hues, formed from hydrogen sulfide dissolved in water. Unfortunately, not all of this not too fragrant gas is deposited in the form of sulfuric secretions, and in the air of Rotorua, even on the approach to the lake, you can feel its specific “aroma”.

In 1900, a gigantic fountain of hot water hit Waimangu, the likes of which have not yet been seen in New Zealand. At that time, the Waimangu geyser was the most powerful in the world and threw out a powerful jet of water mixed with steam, stones and sand to a height of four hundred and fifty meters!

He raged and roared for hours, then fell silent, but after thirty hours he again threw out a fountain of boiling water. It was not easy to calculate the time when the next water eruption would begin, and several inquisitive onlookers paid with their lives for trying to study the hushed giant.

For four years, a giant geyser raged in the valley, shaking eyewitnesses with the fantastic size of its fountain. Then the Waimangu jet began to weaken, and in 1908 the geyser ceased to exist.

Another thermal area lies fifty kilometers south of Rotorua, near New Zealand's largest lake, Taupo. Here, in the Wairakei valley, is the famous "steam cave" Karapiti, from which huge force puffs of steam break out, announcing the surroundings with a frightening roar. Here, in 1958, the world's first geothermal power plant was built using groundwater.

GEYSERS OF KAMCHATKA

Nature has safely hidden the Kamchatka miracle from people. Only in April 1941, the geologist Ustinova, while examining the non-freezing Shumnaya River, flowing from the Uzon volcanic caldera, accidentally noticed a fountain of soaring water on one of its tributaries.

Further study of the tributary showed that in its valley there are 21 more large geysers and many pulsating hot springs, boiling multi-colored lakes, steam-water jets and gurgling mud pots. This tributary was called the Geysernaya River.

It is difficult to convey the impression that this makes on the traveler. amazing place! The whole valley seems to smoke, emitting clouds of white steam and jets of boiling water, there is an incessant roar, whistle, hiss, gurgling and splashes around, making one involuntarily recall the picture of hell described by the great Dante.

The largest of the geysers - the Giant - erupts every five hours. At the same time, a meter-thick jet of boiling water takes off to a height of forty meters, and clouds of steam rise to three hundred meters! A kind of “scale” of mineral salts, which precipitated when the water cooled, formed a cone with a diameter of thirty meters at the base of the geyser. Other geysers and pulsating springs have the same geyserite cones.

Geyserite is yellow, brownish, pink and even greenish, depending on the composition of the precipitated salts. One of the geysers was even named Sugar - so similar is its geyserite cone to a pile of burnt sugar. Geyser Fountain is the most active: every 17 minutes it throws its powerful jet to the height of a seven-story building.

And the Crying Geyser is distinguished by the peculiar nature of the gurgle produced: it looks like a dull sob. The Vodopadny geyser is very effective, below which a stream of boiling water breaks off a rock with a 27-meter waterfall.

Siberian miracle

In the newspaper Irkutsk Vedomosti for 1913, an article was published about a strange phenomenon that happened in February. And this event was truly unique. The fact is that in the middle of a fierce winter, the peasants once saw over the snow that covered the fields with winter, a strange bluish glow that hung for several days in a row.

And when the glow disappeared, within one night the snow melted, and the exposed land suddenly turned green, as in spring.

And a little later, hot springs filled the fields, the jets of which reached several meters. This phenomenon continued for nine months, until the next winter.

GEYSERS OF ICELAND

None European country ice fields do not take up so much space: an eighth of the entire territory! The largest glacier - Vatnajökull (in translation - "a glacier that gives water") - is located in the southeast of the island. This is a vast ice plateau, pierced in eight places by the tips of extinct and active volcanoes.

In addition to the huge amount of ice, the island also has its own valley of geysers - Haukadalur. It is located a hundred kilometers east of Reykjavik, at the foot of the Langjokull glacier. It is here that the famous Big Geyser is located, which hit the first settlers of Iceland at one time. It was the first natural hot fountain that Europeans saw. Subsequently, all gushing hot springs began to be named after him.

The three-meter vent of the Big Geyser opens in the middle of a bowl-shaped pool of white calcareous tufa. It is filled with boiling water. turquoise color, which then splashes to the bottom of the bowl, then again goes into the hole. Finally, the geyser gathers strength and throws a powerful jet 40-60 meters high into the sky three times in a row.

This “fireworks” lasts for ten minutes, and then the water and steam seem to be drawn back into the vent. IN Lately The Great Geyser erupts less frequently. But its neighbor - the Shtokkr geyser - is still full of energy and punctually pleases tourists with its jets, soaring 30-40 meters up.

Another geyser valley is located at the northern edge of the already mentioned large Vatnajokull glacier, next to the Kverkfjedl volcano. And in total, 250 groups of thermal springs have been discovered in Iceland, including 7,000 hot springs - more than anywhere else in the world.

This is not surprising - after all, the temperature of the bowels of the island is very high. In some places, it increases by half a degree with each meter of depth. (For comparison: in Moscow this figure is one hundredth of a degree per meter).

In areas of modern volcanic activity or, conversely, late stages of volcanism, hot springs can form, periodically ejecting steam and hot water. Such springs are called geysers, after the Geyser region in Iceland where they were first discovered. A gushing hot spring appears due to the fact that the channel in the earth is filled with superheated water, and when the vapor pressure reaches a certain value, a column of boiling water is thrown out.

There are not so many places on the planet where you can personally observe this unique natural phenomenon. Our guide will tell you where the corners with untouched nature, in the midst of which the most incredible fountains of water erupt from the bowels of the earth.

Big Geyser, Iceland

The geyser is located in the valley with the tricky name Haykadalur. The geysir rarely erupts, and can be dormant for several years. During the period of activity, it throws out hot water to a height of up to 60 meters.

Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone, USA

With a frequency of approximately 63 minutes, the cone geyser throws out a jet of water from 30 to 60 meters high, containing from 14 to 32 thousand liters of water. Old Faithful was the first geyser in Yellowstone National Park to be named. It happened back in 1870. Now the power of the geyser is gradually falling and the intervals between emissions are increasing.

Andernach, Germany

This is the world's largest cold geyser. He is at rest for only 1.5 hours, after which he throws out a stream of water at 50-60 meters. It lasts approximately 8 minutes.

Suwako, Nagano, Japan

In Nagano, you can watch not only snow monkeys warming themselves in hot springs. Here is one of the largest geysers in the world. With an interval of about one hour, a jet of water 40-50 meters high breaks out of the geyser.

Bufadora, Mexico

A 40-minute drive from the center of Ensenada is the world's largest sea geyser. The jet of water is displaced under the influence of air that enters the sea caves. The height of the jet can reach 44 meters, and the phenomenon itself occurs every minute and is accompanied by a rumbling sound.

Giant, Kamchatka, Russia

From the largest geyser in the Valley of Geysers, a fountain of hot water bursts up to 35 meters high. Steam from the geyser can rise to a height of 300 meters. The eruption lasts about two minutes. During this time, the geyser is thrown into the air about 25,000 liters of water.

El Tatio, Chile

The Valley of Geysers is located in the Andes, at an altitude of 4320 meters. The place is recognized as the highest plateau in the world with geothermal geyser activity. There are about 80 active springs in the park. Max Height eruptions is about 30 meters.

Pohutu, New Zealand

This geyser of the Rotorua Valley is considered the most powerful among all its geothermal sources. He throws a jet up to 30 meters high. The eruption of hot water and steam occurs about once an hour.

Geyser Castle, Yellowstone, USA

The geyser got its name due to the bizarre shapes in which the researchers spotted turrets and jagged edges resembling the outlines of a castle. The geyser erupts every 10-12 hours, throwing a column of boiling water 27 meters high into the air for 20 minutes.

Strokkur, Iceland

The geyser is located in a geothermal region near the Khvitau River. It erupts every 4-8 minutes. The height of the jets varies between 15-20 meters. Sometimes the geyser puts on a real natural show, throwing out water and steam three times in a row.

Fly, USA

In 1916, in northwestern Nevada, while drilling a well for a well, a geothermal pocket was accidentally punched. Almost 50 years later, water from the bowels began to seep to the surface, forming a bizarre landscape. The geyser releases jets to a height of only 1.5 meters, but due to its unusual shape and color, the ongoing action fascinates with its natural beauty.