Geysers and Hot Springs

Geysers are hot springs characterized by irregular discharge of geothermally heated water, ejected with a massive force from the surface of the earth followed by steam. While on the other hand, hot springs are natural formations of geothermally heated water bodies found on the earth’s surface.

Geysers and hot springs though having various similarities are different only because the geysers ejaculate water with a massive amount of force from the earth’s surface, while hot springs are just naturally occurring geothermally heated water bodies.

Geysers are rare formations and are only distributed across five countries on the earth’s surface, i.e. US, Russia, Chile, New Zealand and Iceland. On the other hand, hot springs are fairly common formations found mainly in the regions of active volcanoes. 

Volcanic Geysers

Formation of Geysers

Volcanic geysers are the results of geothermal heating of the groundwater due to interaction with the hot magma deep inside the earth’s surface or with the hot igneous rocks found at the shallow depths of the earth’s crust.

The water and steam sprouted from the geysers are owed to the pipe channels known as conduits found below the surface of the geysers that cause the irregular ejaculation of hot water accompanied by steam. This process occurs when the water reaches a boiling point in the conduits.

This reaction continues to the point till the water supply inside the conduits has reached its exhaustion point. After the process has momentarily halted, the conduits again get filled with water, and this chain reaction continues.  

The conditions and process of formation of geysers are as follows:

• Geysers are formed in certain specific geographic locations which involve intense heat, groundwater supply and proper conduits and such geographic locations are usually volcanic terrains
• The geothermal heating of the water in the geysers is then initiated by the magma or the hot igneous rocks below the earth’s surface
• After a certain period, this water reaches its boiling point, which leads to the ejaculation of the hot spring water from the geysers accompanied by a massive amount of steam
• The presence of a water reservoir is also important to hold the water while it is heated and supplied to the fractures and fissures below the geyser and therefore, the formation of a volcanic geyser is a very rare occurrence

Some of the geographic locations of popular geysers across the world are: 

• Yellowstone National Park, US
• Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
• El Tatio, Chile
• Valley of Geysers, Russia

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Natural Hot Water Geyser

Natural geysers are formations that absorb heat from the earth. Hot meteoric water is spouted from its reservoir with a massive amount of force and is accompanied by a huge amount of steam. This process generates an intensive amount of heat.

The natural hot water geysers are mainly of two types:

• Discharge of hot geothermal water from columns 
• Discharge of hot geothermal water from pool reservoirs

One of the examples of the discharge of hot geothermal water from columns is, the Old Faithful geyser in Wyoming which extracts heat and energy from the surface of the earth and discharges it at irregular intervals.

An example of an explosive natural hot water geyser is the Narcissus geyser in Wyoming which ejaculates hot spring water at an explosive intensity.

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Hot Springs 

Hot springs are also more commonly known as hydrothermal springs and geothermal springs. These structures hold geothermally heated water present in craters on the earth’s surface. The water in the hot springs gets heated due to interacting with the hot mantle present below the earth’s crust. 

The water in the hot springs is rich in minerals and iron with the presence of silica, carbon dioxide and carbonate minerals. People generally are attracted to the hot springs for relaxation and therapeutic purposes.

Process of Formation of Hot Springs

• One of the most common ways for the formation of hot springs is the deposition of rainwater on the surface of the earth in a carter which later on interacts with the hot magma beneath the earth’s surface and gets heated
• Fractures and fissures then initiate the flow of water into deeper depths of the hot mantle, which in turn creates a massive amount of pressure due to which the water is forced back to the surface
• The intensity of pressure beneath the surface of the earth determines how fast and further the water will flow to the surface
• Hot springs also tend to generate a massive amount of steam due to the presence of intensive heat

Some of the examples of important hot springs across the world are

• Yellowstone National Park, United States
• Blood pond, Japan
• Manikaran Sahib, India
• Frying Pan Lake, New Zealand (world’s largest hot spring)

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Difference between Hot Springs and Geysers

Geysers Hot Springs

1. They spout boiling water along with  
2. They hold boiling water in craters

Steam

1. These are rare natural occurrences    
2. These are fairly common
3. These are only found across five        
4. These are heavily distributed across the countries in the world earth’s surface
5. These have an obstruction in the opening of the spout.
6. These have a large surface area for the water to flow freely                
7. The water is stored here inside the surface of the earth                   
8. The water is stored here in reservoirs or craters on the surface of the earth

Conclusion

Geysers and hot springs are natural sources of hot water on the earth’s surface, which are fairly common in characteristics while also having some major differences. The formation of geysers requires the perfect terrestrial conditions, which is the way they are very rare natural formations.

Hot springs are a source of major tourist attraction mainly because they manifest therapeutic and recreational activities.