GGA History of The Geysers

Home Hot Topics! Upcoming Events Overview Map Geysers History About GGA GGA Board Committees Membership Newsletter Contact us Related Websites	About "The Geysers" - A Brief Historical Overview "In the panorama of geothermal events at The Geysers, pieces from five historical eras overlap in a mosaic of time. The first era of untouched wilderness ended abruptly when the second era began about 13,000 years ago, as the Native American peoples in the region found The Geysers." (from A Geysers Album - Five eras of geothermal history by Susan F. Hodgson)
	"In the second era --the age of free human access -- and in the third, the age of organized tourism that began around 1848 -- users focused on geothermal surface features as sources for pleasure and cures. Although the second era may not be over -- perhaps Native Americans still visit thermal features at The Geysers -- most tourism ended in 1980 when the remnants of The Geysers Resort were razed." (Postcard, postmarked from "The Geysers" May 1907, from collection of D. Beebee)
	"The fourth era was an age of electrical development, as is the fifth. Both eras feature electrical power, generated fromsteam extracted from the field's vast underground reservoir. The fourth era began in 1921 and ended in the early 1930s, a time when Indian use and organised tourism were still underway. Its legacy -- perhaps besides inspiring the fifth era -- was electrical generation to light The Geysers Resort." *The first power plant at The Geysers. The electrical transmission line was attached to the pole in the front.* (Photo courtesy of the Geothermal Resources Council.)
	"The fifth era began in 1955, the year the first modern steam well was drilled at The Geysers, and it continues today. Although electrical generation in the field declined and then leveled off from peak development and production in the 1980s, *The Geysers still generates more electricity than any other geothermal field in the world".* *Magma No.1 - the first modern well at The Geysers.* (Photo courtesy of the Geothermal Resources Council.)

	"What will the sixth era of geothermal history hold? What aspects from other eras will remain? The answer lies in the passage of time." - by Susan F.Hodgson, 1997 "A Geysers Album - five eras of geothermal history" (Publication TR49) published by the California Dept. of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (Photo courtesy of Calpine Corp..)

Map of the Geysers Geothermal Field

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