Pagosa hot springs
Pagosa hot springs are a cluster of thermal pools located in the San Juan Basin of Archuleta County, Colorado.
Pagosa hot springs | |
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Coordinates | 37°16′5″N 107°1′28″W |
Type | geothermal spring |
Temperature | 110 °F to 144 °F (62 °C) |
Depth | 1002 feet |
Geology
The Pagosa geothermal hot springs are located on the western slope of the Continental Divide. The sulfur-rich water emerging from what is called the "Mother Spring" has been measured between 110 °F and 144 °F (62 °C).[1] The water originates from 6,000 feet below the surface from volcanic activity.[2] The mineral content of the waters consist of arsenic, boron, chloride, fluoride, iron, lithium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, silica, sodium, sulfate and zinc.[3] The town of Pagosa Springs claim they are the world's deepest known geothermal hot springs.[4][5]
History
The springs are known to the Ute people as Pah gosah which is translated to mean either "healing water" or "water (pah) that has a bad smell (gosah)."[6] Before the arrival of Europeans, the springs were used by the Ancestral Puebloan people, and later by Ute, Navajo and Apache.[7][1]
Gallery
- Pagosa Hot Spring on the shore of the San Juan river, Colorado
- The Mother Spring - Pagosa Hot Springs, Colorado
- Pagosa hot springs in 1874, photograph: Timothy O'Sullivan
- Man Bathing in Pagosa Hot Spring, 1874, photograph: Timothy O'Sullivan
References
- Gulliford, Andrew (2011). A Brief Human History of the Eastern San Juan Mountains. University of Colorado Press. pp. 203–212. ISBN 9781607320845. JSTOR j.ctt46nssv.19.
- "Pagosa Springs". Colorado Encyclopedia. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- "The Great Pagosa Hot Springs - Mineral Content". Pagosa.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- Boster, Seth (May 21, 2018). "World's deepest hot spring also site of Colorado luxury". The Gazette. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- "Deepest geothermal hot spring measured by plumb line". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- Hudson, Bill (July 14, 2015). "Taking the Heat, Part Two". Pagosa Daily Post. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- "History of Archuleta County". Archuleta County Colorado. Retrieved 22 December 2019.