Why springs form

Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Candidate changes in Moderator Election — review your ballot. Linked 1. Related Hot Network Questions. Question feed. Stack Overflow works best with JavaScript enabled. Accept all cookies Customize settings. They have been observed entering and bathing in the hot springs, even in spa areas frequented by humans.

Some are also home to thermophiles — tiny prokaryotic, single celled organisms similar to bacteria that thrive in hot water. These thermophiles, also called extremophiles , may cause the water to be stained in striking colors.

Recently, scientists identified microscopic organisms known as archaea living deep within a hot spring in Idaho. The scientists found that these organisms are able to survive without access to oxygen or carbon, and have given scientists reason to believe organisms can live in conditions that are typically thought of as hostile to life on other planets and moons.

Many hot springs have become tourists attractions. In Japan, for example, spas are built around the natural springs — called onsen — so that people can relax in the warm water. People with skin conditions, muscular problems, or joint pain often visit hot springs for this reason. Its red iron coloring and metals enrichment are caused by groundwater coming in contact with naturally occurring minerals present as a result of ancient volcanic activity in the area.

In Florida, many surface waters contain natural tannic acids from organic material in subsurface rocks, and the color from these streams can appear in springs. If surface water enters the aquifer near a spring, the water can move quickly through the aquifer and discharge at the spring vent. Influx of metal-rich groundwater from natural springs foreground to Cement Creek, Colorado background. The quality of the water in the local groundwater system will generally determine the quality of spring water.

The quality of water discharged by springs can vary greatly because of factors such as the quality of the water that recharges the aquifer and the type of rocks with which the groundwater is in contact. The rate of flow and the length of the flowpath through the aquifer affects the amount of time the water is in contact with the rock, and thus, the amount of minerals that the water can dissolve.

So, should you feel confident about whipping out your canteen and filling it with cool and refreshing spring water? No, you should be cautious. The temperature of an Ozark spring comes from its passing through rock at a mean annual temperature of 56 degrees Fahrenheit. The water is crudely filtered in the rock, and the time spent underground allows debris and mud to fall out of suspension.

If underground long enough, lack of sunlight causes most algae and water plants to die. However, microbes, viruses, and bacteria do not die just from being underground, nor are any agricultural or industrial pollutants removed. By the way, no, this man is not getting a drink from this tempting spring. 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.

We're betting the number of places you can view icebergs while sitting in hot springs is very small! Thermal springs are ordinary springs except that the water is warm and, in some places, hot, such as in the bubbling mud springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Many thermal springs occur in regions of recent volcanic activity and are fed by water heated by contact with hot rocks far below the surface. Even where there has been no recent volcanic action, rocks become warmer with increasing depth.

In such areas water may migrate slowly to considerable depth, warming as it descends through rocks deep in the Earth. If it then reaches a large crevice that offers a path of less resistance, it may rise more quickly than it descended. Water that does not have time to cool before it emerges forms a thermal spring. And, yes, warm springs can even coexist with icebergs , as these happy Greenlanders can tell you.

Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Water is always changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years. The air is full of water, even if you can't see it. Higher in the sky where it is colder than at the land surface, invisible water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets—clouds.

An artesian spring, on the other hand, occurs when groundwater is discharged along faults, joints or fissures in the bedrock, and it may flow on cliffs and valleys. A tubular spring is part of the karst topography system and is associated with limestone, volcanic lava tubes and caverns. It occurs when rainwater seeps through the ground and dissolves the layers of limestone and dolomite, forming huge cavities and caves through the limestone.