GC25H7K Pong Dueat Hot Springs (Earthcache) in Thailand created by sunn

GC25H7K ▼

A cache by sunn_bmixer Message this owner

Hidden : 11/5/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Pong Dueat Hot Springs

Thai version below …

If you are traveling on the road between Chiang Mai and Pai on route 1095 you will see Pong Dueat Hot Springs signposted off on a side road. Unless you are a hot springs fanatic it may not be worth arranging a special trip here from Chiang Mai or Pai, however if you are making your own way from Chiang Mai to Pai or vice versa then Pong Dueat Hot Springs can be a worth while stop. If you do not have your own transport many organized tours will drop by here on their way to Pai and Mae Hong Son. Not only is it a good a good place to come see the hot springs bubble up to the surface there are good facilities here to bathe in the hot spring water. There is a choice of either private cabins or separate male and female hot spring swimming pools or you can just dangle your feet in the natural hot spring stream. Consider the 800m nature walking trail on the way to the hot spring baths and, of course, this earth cache.

There is an entrance fee which is 300 Baht per person for foreigners and 50 Baht per person for Thai (Foreigner who has work permit or Thai driving license can get price as Thais).

The use of pools and cabins are extra, for sure.

Unlike other hot springs that are the hot pool type, Pong Dueat is a geyser that is usally of a very high temperature and pressure. Usually, it springs higher than the earth's surface either occasionally or all the time, but the highest spring will always occur at a steady period. A geyser originates from the accumulation of gas in hot water so that the pressure is higher than usual whereas a hot pool originates from the flows of hot water from under the ground onto the surface and becomes shallow pools. The surface temperature of a geyser is between 90-99 degrees Celsius while that of the underground water is between 170-203 degrees Celsius.

Origin of Pong Dueat Hot Spring
Pong Dueat Hot Springs is is a geyser type while the other surrounding springs are of the hot-pool type. A geyser is a very high temperature and forceful fountain which spout out of the ground occasionally or all the time. The higher ejection occurs at regular intervals. The spring is caused by the accumulation of gases being dissolved in the water to build up an abnormally high pressure, like boiling water in a boiler, until it could hurt itself up high.
The hot-pool type springs, on the other hands, are formed by seeping of hot water from underneath up into the shallow pools on the ground.

Geologic condition
Pong Dueat Hot Spring lies in a porphyritic granitic terrane composing essentially of feldspar, quartz and biotite. This granite was formed in Triassic period, some 204 million years ago (the absolute age was received by a disintrigating potassium-argon ratio dating technic). The north of the hot-spring area is bounded by the sedimentary rocks of Silurian-Devonian periods (345-435 million years ago) composing of sandstones (arkosic sandstone or feldspatic graywacke) and argilites.

Use of hot-spring water
The hot-spring water had been used for pleasure bath and medical treatment since several thousand years ago. It is long believed that the hot-spring water has a therapeutic effect on rheumatic siseases, joint and muscle pains, skin diseases, etc. Generally, the hot-spring water is used for medical treatment and and pleasure mineral-water bath. Furthermore, though the water may have some unfavorable taste and smell, millions of people in the European countries, USA and Japan believe that the drinking or bathing in the hot-spring water helps freshening up the body, curing the skin diseases, suppressing bone and muscle pains, and curing many other symptoms. Back in the period of Roman Empire, thus, there had been a lot of hot water bathing pools. The belief now is developed toward making the skin-freshening ubstances (cosmetics) using mineral water as an ingredient. Besides these uses, in many other countries namely United States, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, China, Turkey, the hot spring water is also used as mineral water for drinking purpose. The mineral water is believed to bring good health, e.g. that with a proper amount of sulfate salts could be used as mild laxative, or that with sodium bicarbonate could reduce gastric acid. It is noted that the potable hot spring mineral water should not have and unfavorable odor, nor the content of hazardous/toxic substances exceed a drinking water standard set out by the industrial Standard Bureau. Unfortunately, the Pong Dueat hot spring water has ab over-standard amount of F as well as H2S.

Your tasks
1. Take a photo with your GPSr at the given coordinates (optional)
2. Messure the maximum heigth of the geyser when it ejects
(If this isn't possible, just meassure the normal height of the water fountains)
3. What is the amount of Fluorine ("F") and Iron ("Fe") in mg/l in the hot-spring water?
4. Have fun and enjoy this remarkable geological site!

Send me all your answers via Message (look at Geocaching profile page).

Happy hunting says sunn_bmixer!
*1/1-Failers*

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