Thermal springs: Exploring the characteristics of these geologic wonders
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While some hot springs around the world are mild enough for bathing, others can cause serious injury or death due to scorching temperatures.
In Yellowstone National Park, deaths and injuries have been reported due to the intense temperatures and acidity of the region's thermal springs. In 2016, a man was dissolved in the boiling waters of a Yellowstone hot spring after he slipped in while checking the temperature, according to the Washington Post.
“Thermal springs are widely distributed throughout the world but are most numerous in areas in which there has been volcanic activity in late geologic time,” a United States Geological Survey (USGS) report explained.
(Photo/Shutterstock)
Hot springs are unique formations where a natural spring of groundwater is heated geothermally. They vary in shapes, sizes, temperature and formation.
“Strictly defined, any spring or well water whose average temperature is noticeably above the mean annual temperature of the air at the same locality may be classed as thermal,” the USGS said.
The heat that drives the temperature is created within the fiery, viscous layer of molten rock of Earth’s mantle.
Countries like the United States, Iceland, Japan, China, New Zealand and Peru are notable for their thermal springs, but these geologic wonders can be found throughout the world.
Areas of the United States, like Conundrum Hot Springs in Colorado, offer mild enough thermal springs for people to enter the waters. Other areas around the world, including Iceland, Costa Rica and Japan, also support milder waters and have famous tourist areas for bathing in thermal springs.
Happy Greenlanders and tourists enjoy the unique experience of dipping in the hot springs while enjoying drifting icebergs floating by on Uunartoq Island at the far southern tip of Greenland. These hot springs provide visitors with a perfect bath temperatures of about 100°F. (Photo/USGS)
The water is also rich in natural minerals and elements like many other springs, but due to higher temperatures, thermal springs have higher mineral contents than cooler waters.
“Although thermal springs are most numerous in areas of geologically young igneous rocks, some rise from much older rocks of sedimentary origin,” the USGS states, adding that around the world, many different types of rocks coincide with documented thermal springs.
Another unique characteristic of some thermal springs is the ability to support thermophiles, or small microorganisms that can withstand intense temperatures.
“Sulfur-secreting bacteria, sometimes referred to under the general name 'sulfuraria,' are minute vegetable organisms and are conspicuous in some thermal springs,” USGS reported.
The smell of brimstone is a common element in some areas of the world and is often the result of these tiny microorganisms at work.
“Generally, they are green and are common in sulfur waters not hotter than 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 Celsius)” according to the USGS report.
Animal life has also been found in thermal springs in areas around the world, but usually in springs that do not exceed 122 F, the USGS states.
In the springs of Hammam Meskoutine in Algeria, one observer noted crabs, frogs, and tadpoles in water at a temperature of 81 F (31 C), the USGS said. Small fish were observed living in water at 102 F (39 C).
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