The Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal field, is located in California’s Mayacamas Mountains, north of San Francisco. Its underground heat produces steam that drives turbines for electricity generation.
Unlike a conventional power station that burns fuel to create steam, a geothermal plant draws naturally heated fluids from beneath the Earth’s surface. At The Geysers, wells tap a hot-water-dominated reservoir, and the extracted steam is directed to generators. Condensed water can be injected back underground to help sustain the resource.
Commercial development at The Geysers began in the 1960s. The field expanded substantially during the following decades and became an important source of dependable renewable electricity for northern California. Its output is more consistent than generation from weather-dependent sources such as wind and solar.
The Geysers is sometimes mistaken for a single power plant. It is actually a large geothermal field containing a network of wells and multiple generating facilities operated by different companies.