Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
It is important to emphasize that there is nothing new about renewable energy.
From solar power to burning biomass (wood) in caves and elsewhere, humans have
taken advantage of renewable resources from time immemorial. Hot springs have
been used for bathing since Paleolithic times or earlier (USDOE, 2010), and the early
Romans used hot springs to supply public baths and for underfloor heating systems.
The world's oldest geothermal district heating system has been operating in France
since the 14th century (Lund, 2007). The history of geothermal energy use in the
United States is interesting and lengthy; following is a brief chronology of major
geothermal events in this country (EERE, 2014a).
G
eothermal
t
imeline
*
8000 B.C. (and Earlier)
Paleo-Indians used hot springs for cooking and for refuge and respite. Hot springs
were neutral zones where members of warring nations would bathe together in peace.
Native Americans have a history with every major hot spring in the United States.
1807
As European settlers moved westward across the continent, they gravitated
toward these springs of warmth and vitality. In 1807, the first European visited the
Yellowstone area; John Colter (
c.
1774-1813), widely considered to be the first moun-
tain man, probably encountered hot springs, leading to the designation “Colter's
Hell.” Also that year, settlers founded the city of Hot Springs in Arkansas, where, in
1830, Asa Thompson charged $1 a person for the use of three spring-fed baths in a
wooden tub—the first known commercial use of geothermal energy.
1847
William Bell Elliot, a member of John C. Fremont's survey party, stumbled upon a
steaming valley just north of what is now San Francisco, California. Elliot called the
area
The Geysers
—a misnomer—and thought he had found the gates of Hell.
1852
The Geysers was developed into a spa called The Geysers Resort Hotel. Guests
included J. Pierpont Morgan, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, and Mark Twain.
1862
At springs located southeast of The Geysers, businessman Sam Brannan poured an
estimated half million dollars into an extravagant development dubbed “Calistoga,”
replete with hotel, bathhouse, skating pavilion, and racetrack. Brannan's was one of
many spas reminiscent of those of Europe.
*
Adapted from EERE,
A History of Geothermal Energy in the United States
, Energy Efficiency &
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, 2014 (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/
geothermal/history.html)
