[Geysers] New California Hot Spot

[Will Moats]

Hello All,

Saw the below information posted on soak.net. Maybe a new hot spring area with a potential for geysers?


unnamedD HOT SPOT ON THE LOS PADRES 
JULY 12 -- SANTA BARBARA, CA:  A strange and unexplained hot spot the size of two football fields has started at least one brush fire, and is producing temperatures above 400 degrees at the ground's surface, according to a report by CBS 5 News. It's about 15 miles north of Santa Barbara, in the thingy Smith Wilderness area on the Los Padres National Forest, and was discovered by crews on a fire last summer who said they saw fissures in the ground emitting a lot of heat.  
 
The source of that fire was traced to intense heat from the ground itself.  
 
USGS hydrologist Robert Mariner found temperatures of 583 degrees in fumerals -- steam vents -- about 10 or 11 feet below the surface. That's hot enough to ignite wood.  
 
KRON-TV said a recon flight and thermal infrared showed the size of hot spot is about three acres. The hottest place was 11 feet underground, at 584 degrees.  
 
No oil or gas deposits or vents have been located in the area, and there are no significant deposits of coal. Geiger counter readings are normal for radioactivity, and there is no evidence of explosions or volcanic activity.  
 
"There's just no reason to have temperatures in fumerals that hot, unless you are dealing with a volcano," said Mariner. But it's not a volcano. One theory is that a landslide in the area could have exposed a combination of rocks or minerals and triggered some kind of chemical reaction. Another possibility is that an earthquake fault could be the source of the heat.  
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