[8] In 2008, David Lynch and Kenneth Hudnut described it as a "Large active shieldlike pot" located on private land at 33°17.117′ -115°34.620' and gave it the designation W9.

[9] In 2015 or 2016,[5] possibly following seismic activity[7] though this is disputed by the United States Geological Survey,[5] the geyser began to move unprecedentedly quickly south-west,[5] as judged by satellite images.

[2] In May 2018, the railroad employed geological surveyors from the company Shannon & Wilson to assess the site and they in turn involved David Lynch, a Caltech researcher who had previously studied the mud pots.

[5][3] The engineers repeatedly backfilled the eastern side of the caldera with riprap, which was swallowed by the hole,[3] though the basin left to the east was eventually filled by mid-October.

[8] The geyser intersected with the Union Pacific Railroad in late 2018, with major engineering work required to allow freight rail traffic of around 70 trains per day[3] between Inland Empire and Yuma, Arizona to continue, though speeds were reduced.

[17] The Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan[2] that transports fuel from San Diego to Imperial was diverted at a cost of $3 million[18] in early 2019.

[13] Assuming the geyser continues in the same direction towards the Salton Sea 2 miles (3.2 km) away, it may further cross a parking lot, a minor road, ponds, and fields.

[2] The Niland geyser releases water, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide,[7] with the bottom of the pool like quicksand due to liquefaction.

[2] The hydrogen sulfide released from the pool, easily recognisable by its rotten egg smell, may originate from rotting algae or from geological activity.

[7] The carbon dioxide released from the geyser tends to fill its crater, making it an extreme danger of suffocation for anybody in close proximity though the concentration drops within a few feet.