Near the south end of the Salton Sea, California has a bubbling mud hole that appears to have looked at roads, rail lines, and pipelines and decided: those belong to me now.
The Niland Geyser is the kind of thing California does better than anyone: a geological oddity, a public works problem, a vaguely apocalyptic roadside attraction, and a metaphor with bubbles. It is not fast. It is not dramatic. It is just a nasty little Earth burp moving through the desert with the confidence of a creature that understands eminent domain better than we do. Soon, a society to protect it will appear.
The landscape near the south end of the Salton Sea hosts a cluster of mudpots that never stop bubbling. It's one of the deserts strangest and most unpredictable natural phenomena. Some are small and sputtering, others are massive and disruptive, and one in particular is on the move, destroying nearby roadways and even rail lines.
But what causes these unusual geothermal features and how did one become a major threat to infrastructure? We'll take a deep dive into what mudpots are, how the Niland Geyser came to be, why its on the move, and what experts are doing to mitigate the damage.
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The desert is full of wonders, and a few of them are trying to eat the railroad.
Previously:
• Great drone footage of Nevada's unnatural natural wonder
• Remember that time three men got banned from Yellowstone for cooking chickens in a geyser? Lego Park Ranger does!
• 'Touron' who ignores warning signs at Yellowstone National Park for photo-op gets thrown in jail
