Oklahoma’s Spring Brings Rare Geyser-like Burst At Lake Eufaula

As endless waves of severe weather and thunderstorms stream across Oklahoma this spring, more than a few curious things are happening in nature.

Not only has a large portion of the state, various counties and communities, set new rainfall and flooding records, but it seems a geyser has opened up at Lake Eufaula.

You can see in the video huge streams of water bubble up into one of Eufala's tributaries. Locals say this is a super-rare phenomenon, even the old dudes have only seen a handful of times in life.

@maandpasadventures♬ original sound - Pa

As sensational as it seems, it's not actually a geyser.

By the boring definition, geysers are a result of tectonic activity deep in the earth's crust. When groundwater hits the boiling flashpoint, it erupts to the surface as a mix of really hot water and steam.

That's not what is happening at Lake Eufala, but Mother Nature is causing this rare event.

Crowder is one of the charming little communities along the banks of Lake Eufaula. Above the town is Crowder Reservoir - not to be confused with Crowder Lake in SWOK.

When the reservoir is full enough, like all bodies of water, it spills over. In this case, the overflow of Crowder is flowing into Eufaula via pipes.

As people more familiar with the rare situation explain, as pressure builds up in the pipe, air is trapped inside. It could be pulled in by a whirlpool effect above the spillway, but more than likely it was dry inside when the rains started. As the water flows, it creates pockets of vacuum that build until it breaks, releasing even more water and air in violent bursts.

The same thing happens below just about every dam across this great state.

Still, locals call it a geyser. Whether it's technically right or wrong doesn't matter; they live there. They get naming rights.