David K - 8-1-2004 at 10:44 AM
Anyone have a photo of it erupting? I think I once saw an old black & white picture of the monthly event, but don't remember what book... Here is El
Volcan last year ( http://vivabaja.com/403/page14.html )
...
Three Years Earlier...
David K - 8-1-2004 at 10:55 AM
Lorenzo de Baja and I camped along the road from El Marmol at this place with many water springs oozing desolved onyx... We didn't find the geyser
('onyx dome') that trip. It is located a short hike up the arroyo that is crossed before coming to this white slope... 4 miles northeast from the El
Marmol schoolhouse.
Mexitron - 8-1-2004 at 10:21 PM
Never knew there was a geyser there....oh boy, another trip!!
David K - 8-1-2004 at 10:49 PM
Yup, it is a beautiful place as well... see the photos starting at http://vivabaja.com/403/page13.html
In Walt Peterson's excellent 'The Baja Adventure Book' (Third Edition), pg. 135: "About once a month the geyser shoots up a 60-foot plume of gas and
water for several minutes."
My first photo above is the 'Onyx Dome' about 30 feet high on the west bank of the arroyo. Many other bubbling soda springs are around the dome, and
also on the white slope shown in my second photo (which the road from El Marmol to the La Olividada barite mine passes next to after crossing Arroyo
El Volcan, up which the dome is located).
The Baja Almanac (and Mexican topos) mis-labled the arroyo as 'Zamora'.
[Edited on 8-2-2004 by David K]
Mexitron - 8-2-2004 at 06:17 AM
I've been to Arroyo Volcan and seen the onyx forming springs but never hoofed it up the drainage......does anybody keep a schedule on when the geyser
goes off?
Did you ever try to keep driving on that road past El Volcan--the old mining road? That's one of the bigger washouts I've seen.....
TMW - 8-5-2004 at 07:32 AM
We were there this past June and there is an onxy dig up the wash past the dome and around the bend. There is a road to this dig to the right on the
other side of the wash toward La Olividada. The road to La Vividada has a bad wash out further on. I was on it a few years ago and a motorcycle might
have been able to get thru with a little help.
David K - 8-5-2004 at 07:54 AM
I first drove that road in 1974. Didn't know to hike up the arroyo, just figured the white slope was El Volcan. I continued several more miles to
where the view of the gulf can be seen. I don't remember any barite mine then.... perhaps it was further away or not yet started. I was just seeking
El Volcan and returned to the white slope not having seen any other springs.
Lorenzo de Baja and I returned in 2000, but didn't hike up the arroyo, just around the white slope. Jack Swords provided the exact hiking detail after
that trip and when I returned with Sarah in 2003, it was easy to find... I could even drive part ways toward the geyser, in the arroyo on existing
tracks.
After being there Walt Peterson's directions made sense, but neither Lorenzo or I figured it out in 2000.
The road just beyond the white slope was washed out when we hiked it, in 2000. This is a great area to explore... lots of elephant trees, as well.
If that road could ever be pushed through to El Huerfanito/ Okie's Landing area, it would be quite a short cut or loop.
DIRECTIONS: From the onyx school house in El Marmol, take road leading off to the northeast. There was a sign pointing out La Olividada by the school.
(The old road south from Marmol can be seen climbing the mountain east southeast of town).
2.0 miles from the school is a major junction. Turn right for El Volcan. Ahead dead ends after a mile. 4WD recommended from here as it is a steep down
grade for most of the next 2.0 miles to Arroyo el Volcan (at the bottom of the grade/canyon). Tracks go to the right, in the arroyo 0.2 mi. where a
short hike begins passing beautiful pools and springs to the onyx dome (geyser) 0.2 mi. further.
If you continue on the road across the arroyo, a road to the right goes to some onyx diggings on the ledge above the arroyo and then drops into the
arroyo at a huge tinaja (located past the onyx dome). Beyond the above right road is the white slope, on the right... and the road continues east, but
may be impassable.
[Edited on 8-5-2004 by David K]