Sloquet Hot Springs Earthcache EarthCache

Accessing the Sloquet Hot Springs

Most visitors of this Earthcache will approach from the north. Take the In’Shuck-Ch FSR, which is accessed a few kilometres east of Pemberton. Then cut over to the Lilloet West FSR at 36km (the fastest route) or stay put follow it all the way down past the Skookumchuck Hot Springs before cutting over to the west. The parking area is at about 8.6km along the Sloquet Creek FSR. There are signs for the Hot Springs before the junction to this access road. From the parking lot there is a short but quite steep trail down to the hot springs. Camping is available up top.

The best time of year to visit is summer and early fall. Because these springs are located adjacent to Sloquet Creek, if you visit during high water you may find the pool area submerged.

How do hot springs work?

In this area, hot springs and mineral springs seem to work the same way: as natural water pumps, perhaps aided by gravity rather than hindered.

Water can move through solid rock that is permeable, meaning that it contains interconnected pores or fractures. Since most rock in our area is at least slightly permeable, surface water seeping into the ground can be pulled by gravity down to great depths.

The temperature underground increases about 2°C for every 100 m in depth. At depths of 5 km or more the rock temperature is at or above the boiling point of water—at the surface. Down there it is under too much pressure to boil.

Still, hot water is less dense than cold water, and expanding gases in it also decrease its overall density. If given the chance, hot water will rise over cold water. But normally the hot water at depth cannot force its way up through the rock fast enough to retain the heat, which is lost as it moves up into cooler layers, so it stops rising before it reaches the surface.

However, scattered through the earth’s crust are long upward conduits to the surface—the hot-spring systems—that allow the hot water to rise rapidly. As it rises, replacement water is drawn in from the surrounding rock, keeping the pump running.

The water seems to move up along fault planes, for many of the springs are found at or close to faults. A recent idea is that water moving down adjacent, connecting faults from higher elevations may provide gravitational head for the system.

The hot water cools on its way up, often mixing with normal groundwater near the surface. But it retains enough heat to provide warm soaks for eager humans who would much rather squeeze into crowded pools with dozens of strangers than have a hot bath at home.

An interesting point about hot springs is that they are indirectly nuclear-fueled. Most of the Earth’s heat is generated by the slow decay of radioactive minerals throughout the planet. Hot springs reach deep enough to tap a little of that geothermal heat. The water is slightly more radioactive than normal groundwater, probably because it has spent more time underground and thus has picked up greater amounts of radioactive minerals.

Because of the heat and high concentration of minerals, it is believed that hot springs have healing powers. The flora and fauna differs in the area of a hot spring because of the heat and difference in minerals. Often, bacteria from deep within the earth is brought with the springs, which changes the environment

Educational Requirements for logging this Earthcache:

Please email me through my profile above the answers to one of the following questions:

1. How deep are the pools at the deepest point? How do you think these pools were made? What is the total area of all the pools combined?,or
2. Measure the temperature of the water in the uppermost source pool and tell me the answer.
3. From your visit to the site, do you believe sulphur is present in the rock that the hot springs must travel through before reaching the surface?
4. As well, please post a picture of your group at the site of the hot springs with your log