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Hot spring

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grand Prismatic Spring and Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park
Guelma in Algeria
Hot spring in Lassen Volcanic National Park

A hot spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. Hot springs are in many places, especially in mountains.

Definitions

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"Blood Pond" hot spring in Beppu, Japan

There is no universally accepted definition of a hot spring. For example, one can find the phrase hot spring defined as

  • any geothermal spring [1]
  • a spring with water temperatures above its surroundings [2][3]
  • a spring with water temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F) [4]
  • a natural spring with water temperature above body temperature – normally between 36.5 and 37.5 °C (97.7 and 99.5 °F) [5][6][7][8][9]
  • a natural spring of water greater than 21.1 °C (70 °F) (synonymous with thermal spring) [10][11][12][13]
  • a natural discharge of groundwater with elevated temperatures [14]

Sources of heat

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The water issuing from a hot spring is heated by geothermal energy, i.e., heat from the Earth's mantle.

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References

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  1. ↑ "MSN Encarta definition of hot spring". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  2. ↑ Miriam-Webster Online dictionary definition of hot spring
  3. ↑ For example, ambient ground temperature is usually around 55–57 °F (13–14 °C) in the eastern United States
  4. ↑ US NOAA Geophysical Data Center definition
  5. ↑ Wordsmyth definition of hot spring
  6. ↑ "American Heritage dictionary, fourth edition (2000) definition of hot spring". Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  7. ↑ Infoplease definition of hot spring
  8. ↑ "Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. definition of hot spring". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  9. ↑ Allan Pentecost, B. Jones, R.W. Renaut (2003). "What is a hot spring?". Can. J. Earth Sci. 40 (11): 1443–6. Bibcode:2003CaJES..40.1443P. doi:10.1139/e03-083. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2011-01-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) provides a critical discussion of the definition of a hot spring.
  10. ↑ "Wordnet 2.0 definition of hot spring". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  11. ↑ Ultralingua Online Dictionary definition of hot spring
  12. ↑ Rhymezone definition of hot spring
  13. ↑ Lookwayup definition of hot spring
  14. ↑ "Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, article on hot spring". Archived from the original on 2007-02-11. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
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