Page 31 - Super Earth Encyclopedia

“Many geysers AROUND THE WORLD

and hot springs

Hot water that
contains dissolved
limestone creates
terraces of chalky are evidence of
travertine.
hidden volcanoes.”

WARM WATER
In the mountains of central Japan, monkeys called
Japanese macaques bathe in the pools of hot springs
Hot water that escapes to keep warm in winter. Some hot springs are used
to the surface easily forms by people too, but many are far too hot for this.
hot springs. They are often
inhabited by vividly
colored microscopic life.
Some geysers form cones of
geyserite—a rock made of
glasslike minerals dissolved
in the hot water.

GIANT GEYSER
Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is the
world’s largest active geyser. A major eruption can hurl
hot water more than 295 ft (90 m) into the air, but such
eruptions do not happen very often.

BUBBLING MUD
On the volcanic island of Iceland, acidic hot springs
seeping up through volcanic ash have created bubbling
pools of liquid mud. The bubbles are full of gas, and
burst with a sulfurous smell of rotten eggs.
Waterproof geyserite
lines the vent. This
helps keep the hot
water under pressure,
so it gets hotter than
normal boiling point.

Porous rock contains
water that is heated
from below and starts
rising to the surface. UNIQUE EARTH

A narrow part of this vent VOLCANIC STEAM
stops water escaping easily This fumarole on the Mediterranean island of Vulcano
to form a hot spring. erupts steam containing dissolved sulfur. As the steam is
Instead, pressure builds cooled by the air, the sulfur turns to bright yellow crystals
up and creates a geyser. that cover the volcanic rock around the vent.
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