Geyser Gazing Society

Geyser Tourism

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most popular natural tourist sites in the United States, but there is a lot more to the history and subject of geyser tourism. People have been visiting geysers for over a hundred years. In the early 19th century, Waimangu Geyser was a very popular tourist site, resulting in the construction of hotels nearby and the creation of a tour—“the Round Tour”—that is still given today years after that particular geyser became extinct.

Since geysers are actually quite rare—there are only about 1000 in the entire world— there are only a handful of spots to go geyser gazing. Geysers are concentrated in five countries. There is Yellowstone National Park in the United States, the Dolina Geiserov and the Kamchatka Valley of Geysers in Russia, the El Tatio geyser field in Chile, the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand, and many places in Iceland.

Unsurprisingly, many of these places have capitalized on their natural resources and done their best to create a thriving tourist industry around them. Many of the world’s geyser fields are located in remote or difficult to access places because of the requirements for the formation of geysers. The terrain is usually near volcanoes where there is a high level of geothermal activity along with the right type of rock to withstand the water pressure. This can create some difficulties in creating a spot that is practical for tourists to visit. The Kamchatka Valley of Geysers is very hard to access. In fact, groups have to be brought in by helicopter over the mountains. The secluded valley only has one hotel, but even with the difficulties and expense in getting there, thousands of tourists still flock to the Valley of Geysers each year.

There are often other things to see around geyser tourists sites. For instance, Yellowstone National Park has incredible wildlife, such as bison, wolves, and bears. It is also one of the easiest geyser fields to access and can handle large crowds of tourists. Additionally, there are plenty of hotels near the National Park where tourists can stay in comfort or they can rough it and camp at the park. New Zealand—the site of the Waimangu Geyser—has had a history of geyser tourism for over a century. The El Tatio geyser field in Chile is another popular site in the southern hemisphere. Although it is located in a remote and sparsely populated part of the Andes Mountains, there are tour guides that bring you to the geyser fields and you can camp at the park or stay in San Pedro and drive up.

Despite theme parks, resorts, and other new vacation destinations, many tourists still love visiting natural wonders of the world, like the geyser fields as can be seen by the millions who visit geyser all around the world each year. Some countries that contain geysers have taken steps to insure that these natural wonders are protected, so they can be admired by future generations.