 The scene was not merely beautiful. It was truly sublime. On descending the slope, we saw the pillar of steam rising several miles distant. And when more than a mile, we could see the Geyser Canyon very distinctly. And here the roar, rushing, hissing steam. Geyser Canyon, where four eras of use began in the Geyser's geothermal field. Here, Native Americans came, then tourists, early electrical generation, and finally, modern electrical projects. These are the stories in a Geyser's album. The Geyser's geothermal field with rare dry steam is the world's largest developed geothermal field. It is about 80 miles north of San Francisco, California. Today, many thermal features known to early visitors are gone, but not all. The canyon seems an enormous, seething, steaming cauldron. Steam and hot water issue from hundreds of vents, seething, hissing, and roaring. William Bell Elliott, a hunter with John Fremont Survey Party, found Geyser Canyon in 1847 while tracking a grizzly bear. He described it as the gates of hell and misnamed it the Geysers, as not are there. By 1852, with tourism increasing, the Geyser's Resort Hotel was built at the foot of Geyser Canyon, though hotel is included on an early map of the canyon with the thermal features. By 1863, a stage road connected the resort to nearby towns. The stagecoach ride was legendary, as was the driver, Clark Foss, invited to England to meet the Queen. The Geyser's Resort grew famous, and the guest list splendid. Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Luther Burbank, and the Prince of Wales all came. This view is from the top of Geyser Canyon, looking down at the hotel complex. The guest took sulfur baths and hiked up the canyon, starting before daybreak for the most spectacular views of steam in what one visitor called an atmosphere mixed with the perfumes from the interior realm. Sturdy staffs helped these hikers reach the Witch's Cauldron, a popular destination. It is the most peculiar feature of all the Geysers, and is well called the Witch's Cauldron. The thick black water, black as ink, boils so violently that it spouts up two or three feet from the surface, enclosed in this rocky wall. One local visitor to Geyser Canyon was a businessman, John D. Grant. Grant's mind wasn't on mineral baths, but on harnessing the steam for electrical power generation. In 1921, with a homemade cable drilling rig, he drilled a well to find steam next to the Witch's Cauldron. Glenn Truett, a drilling crew member, recalled that at a shallow depth, the well blew up like a volcano. Grant, undeterred, crossed the canyon with his rig. In 1922, he successfully drilled a geothermal well the first in the United States. Grant brought a steam engine to the well site. With steam from the first well, he drilled another about 40 feet away. By 1926, eight steam wells were in. About 60 feet from the first two wells, a small power plant was built. It produced 35 kilowatts of electricity, using two small steam-driven generators, enough power for about 35 homes. For two years, Grant's project was backed by a local stock company. Stockholder Luther Burbank, the famed botanist, stands at a wellhead. Burbank, Grant, and their wives pose by a well. Grant arranged to sell electricity to the city of Healdsburg, where a power company official thought enough steam was at the Geysers to power 100,000 homes. But technical and economic problems interfered with the project. A glut of oil hitting the West Coast market lowered the cost of electricity from oil-fired plants. Finally, in the 1930s, the project was ended. A generator from the power plant was moved to the resort, where a small amount of electricity was produced. In 1955, the modern era of development began. B.C. McCabe, founder of Magma Power Company, leased about 3,200 acres of the Geysers, including the Geyser Canyon area. About halfway between John Grant's wells 1 and 7, he drilled Steamwell Magma 1, the first modern geothermal well. In 1956, McCabe's company, together with Thermal Power Company, began developing the field. Steamwell's thermal 1 through 5 were drilled in the next two years. In 1958, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a large public utility in Northern California, agreed to purchase the steam to generate electricity. PG&E built Unit 1, the first modern power plant of the Geysers. In 1960, the plant began producing enough electricity for 12,000 homes. Soon, Unical Corporation and other companies came to the Geysers. In the 1970s, as field activity continued, major legal issues were settled. Geothermal steam was found to be a mineral, not a water resource. And the federal government kept title to geothermal resources on Homestead Act lands. By 1992, 613 steam wells had been drilled, some nearing two miles deep, though Grant's first well was just below 200 feet. The temperatures exceeded 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The California Department of Conservation oversees wells drilled on state and private lands, and the Bureau of Land Management wells on federal lands. Together, industry and government worked to protect the environment and geothermal resources. Keeping pace with the increasing number of wells, more and larger power plants were built, mostly by public utilities, but some by private companies and governmental agencies. By June 1989, all the field's 29 plants were constructed, able to produce 2,093 megawatts of electricity, enough for 2 million homes. The pace of growth is clear. Enormous expansion occurred in the 1980s, encouraged by oil price increases in 1979, and a law passed in 1978 helping small power producers to sell electricity. However, more power plants of the geysers meant more steam was needed. By the end of the 1980s, it was clear a limit on steam production had been reached. Events focused on steam supply issues where they remain today. In the late 1980s, steam prices fell with the price of oil, making geothermal a less economical source of electricity to produce. At the same time, steam production rates, quality and pressures declined more rapidly than many had thought they would. Projects were delayed, canceled, and discouraged. By 1991, electrical output from the geysers was down about 37% from the installed capacity. Several power plants were retired, suspended, and placed on standby. In 1992, the output was down about 42%, with enough power still for about 1,200,000 homes. In response, lease owners, steam suppliers, power plant operators, and regulatory agencies are looking for ways to increase steam production and electrical power generation. Power plants have been adjusted to operate at lower steam pressures and in efficient ones closed. Steam pipelines may be rerouted and more surface waters injected into the reservoir. Though the resource of the geysers is vast, the future is uncertain. Only time can tell what to enter next in a geyser's album.