Old Faithful erupts on a schedule measured in tens of minutes
Old Faithful in Yellowstone is famous because its eruptions often repeat on intervals of tens of minutes, letting visitors time a boiling water column that can soar tens of meters.
Underground plumbing fills with heated groundwater until pressure flashes part of the water to steam, lifting the rest skyward. The rhythm is not a clock, but it is regular enough that park staff publish predicted windows.
A geyser turns heat into a public spectacle. Old Faithful shows geothermal Earth can be both wild and, for a while, forecastable.
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