Andernach Geyser (, previously ''Namedyer Sprudel'') is the highest

cold-water geyser Cold-water geysers are geysers that have eruptions whose water spurts are propelled by bubbles, instead of the hot steam which drives the more familiar hot-water geysers: The gush of a cold-water geyser is identical to the spurt from a freshl ...

in the world, reaching heights of 30 to 60 metres. The geyser was first bored in 1903 on the Namedy Peninsula (''Namedyer Werth'') in the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

near

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

. In 2006 it was turned into a tourist attraction and one of the sights in the volcano park and part of the Geopark Vulkanland Eifel.

History

It is said that in 1903 on the Namedy

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, a 343 m deep

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petr ...

was drilled into a -containing

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

to extract

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

for

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

. The reason for boring the hole at this location was that gas bubbles were seen rising in the waters of the old Rhine

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

. When the cold-water geyser initially erupted, it leapt to a height of 40 metres. The geyser, and the mineral water it produced, was then called "Namedyer Sprudel" ("Namedy Fizz"). The well was initially intended for producing sparkling mineral water but soon it also became a touristic attraction. For years, the high fountain was a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

of the Namedy peninsula. The site suffered from significant degradations over the years and in 1957 was put out of operation. Following the upgrade to the B 9 federal highway, the well was closed with a valve in 1967. In the late 1990s, efforts were made to enable the geyser to become a tourist attraction again, but these conflicted with strict

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

obligations to which the area had been subject since 1985. Ownership of the peninsula went to the town of

in 1990. In 2001, another borehole was drilled into the gas-permeable rock at a new location farther from the road. Even when the first hole was drilled, the geyser jetted back to a height of 40 metres. The well was then fitted with a

gate valve A gate valve, also known as a sluice valve, is a valve that opens by lifting a barrier (gate) out of the path of the fluid. Gate valves require very little space along the pipe axis and hardly restrict the flow of fluid when the gate is fully ope ...

again. The Federation for the Environment and Conservation (BUND) presented a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

to the

Higher Administrative Court Higher may refer to: Music * The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band Albums * ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007 * ''Higher'' (Chris Stapleton album) or the title song, 2023 * ''Higher'' (Ezio album) or the title s ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

to prevent the further development of the geyser for tourism within the

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. In May 2005, the town of Andernach and the BUND settled out of court to allow the geyser to be reactivated under certain conservation conditions and for tourism purposes. Today, the geyser is fed from a 350-metre-deep

artesian well An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of Permeability (ea ...

. Since 7 July 2006, the geyser has erupted regularly. At night it is closed with a valve for safety reasons, but it is allowed to erupt during the day. Access to the

used to be possible in only a few guided boat trips, booked in advance, on certain summer weekends. In summer 2008, 33 boat tours were operated. A much wider tourist attraction was established with the opening of the Andernach Geyser Adventure Centre (''Erlebniszentrum Geysir Andernach'') on 29 May 2009 with a trip to the geyser in the river cruiser and ferry, ''Namedy''. The boat was christened during the celebrations. In the tourist visitor centre, there is information about the geyser. On 9 November 2008, the Andernach Geyser was officially recorded in the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' as the highest cold-water geyser in the world.Geysir sprudelt ins Guinness-Buch
in: ''Rhein-Zeitung'', 7 November 2008

References

Video 8:31 min., relevant entry from 1:16 min.

External links

* {{Official, url=http://www.geysir-andernach.de/en/ * Frank Patalong

at

Spiegel Online ' () is a German news website. It was established in 1994 as ''Spiegel Online'' as a content mirror of the magazine ''Der Spiegel''. In 1995, the site began producing original stories and it introduced ''Spiegel Online International'' for artic ...

dated 7 May 2012 Cold water geysers Geysers of Germany Eifel Geography of Rhineland-Palatinate Mayen-Koblenz World record holders Middle Rhine