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Calpine Geysers 2011 Field Trip

Socrates mine mercury retort near Pine Flat

We travelled in style; thanks Calpine!

Silica-carbonate from hydrothermally altered serpentinite

Inside the Calpine West Ford Flat geothermal power generation plant

Sulfur Springs thermal area

Brian testing the ground

Fitted with goggles, earplugs, and hard hats we felt safe and secure; thanks CalOSHA!

West Ford Flat is producing 25MW of electricity

After passing through the turbine, spent steam goes through a condenser where it is cooled, turned back into water, and pumped back into the ground

There's geothermal steam in those pipes

Um, unit 2 (power plant)

Um, unit 2 (power plant generator)

Tools of the trade

Gauges; what's not to like?

What's the operator's job like? Hours of boredom, accentuated by a few moments of unimaginable excitement. Well, that was my impression anyway...

Even more gauges

...25 MW of electricity, enough to power ~ 25k homes

The steam comes out of the ground at ~350 degrees Fahrenheit

...and over 100 pounds of pressure per square inch.

Our man Brian helped create the process to remove heavy metals from the waste sulfur making it useful in agriculture.

Ariolimax californicus J. G. Cooper, 1872 - California banana slug

No gastropods were harmed during the filming of this field trip

Black Bart! Are you stuck in the chasm of that exotic block?

West Ford Flat power plant control room

Rotary furnace or calciner inside the Socrates mine mercury retort

Natalie having fun with her rock pick

Delicious sulfur scented steam, yum.

Non-condensable gas escaping

Bottomless? We could only see the boiling water when the breeze cleared the steam

Eden taking an artistic angle shot

Matthew will pose for a small fee...

Kyle (with Schist?) and Brandon

Not much grows in sulfur flavored steam

Boiling pools also make an interesting sound

This thermal area results from a shallow steam reservoir where cracks in the caprock heats the (mostly meteoric) groundwater

Very well insulated steam conveyance pipes with u-joint for expansion

Traditional use of geology hammer to judge relative size

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