2022 UPDATE!! (SKIP TO BELOW FOR ORIGINAL CACHE DESCRIPTION & INSTRUCTIONS TO LOG THIS CACHE)
Happy to see many visiting this cache over the years and this place had gone through great changes (although some will be missed) since.
Updating the new look of this Hot Spring and the amenities that you can find here.
Brand new sign to welcome you at the entrance. Follow the path and be greeted by the florals and even a small eatery just a few steps away from the Hot Spring pool.
A nice place to have some food and drinks or get away from the blazing sun or wet weather if you are caught in it.
In place of the old hot spring tap and pipes (which you can find in the old post below), the new one boast a 12 pax footbath! (depending how many pax you want to squeeze on the stone bench that is XD). Hot Spring temperature various from Hot to Mega HOT. So please be careful when fetching the scorching spring water or dipping your feet into it. Take note to only dip your feet at the designated area to keep it hygienic for everyone.
Take care to not soak your feet for extended amount of time as the steam and heat may cause dizzyness especially for people with medical or health conditions.
There is also now an egg boiling section. BYOP (bring your own pail!) and Eggs. For best results, place your pail full of eggs under constant running tap outlet for 10mins or more (depending how well done you would like your eggs to be). Do remove your eggs timely so others can boil their eggs too.
The little red house in the middle of the complex cordons off the old hot spring outlets.
For a comprison of the new and original looks of Sembawang Hot Springs, check the original post below!
TAKE NOTE of the requirements to log a find for this cache. Instructions are in the the original post below and all the answers can still be found at the new premise.
Have fun!
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<ORIGINAL CACHE POST>
Sembawang Hot Spring also known as "Kampong Ayer Panas (Hot Water Village)" is the only natural hot spring on the mainland of Singapore and one of the very few geographical phenomenon we have in Singapore.
Many people once come to this premise in seek of cures for skin problems, rheumatism and arthritis. As much as 1000 people visited this spring at weekends during its peak. However, this have now become a quiet sanctuary for people who still remembered its existence.
Being a preserved site, Sembwang Hot Spring had undergone many renovations. Now, terrain at GZ is flat and properly pathed through a wooded area. You will see a concreted open area once you reach GZ.
Hot springs are springs of water with temperature higher than in the surroundings. It emerge from underground and remains hot with steam emanating from it.
Hot springs are formed when underground water comes into contact with magma or hot rock masses. Since Singapore is not in any volcanic regions, formation of Sembawang Hot Spring is most probably due to hot rock masses. The hot rocks heats up the water and forces it up through cracks in the ground. Minerals and salts dissolves and get added to the spring water as it make its way up.
Temperature of the hot spring is very high which thus lets off steam when water comes out on the surface. The steaming effect is a significant aspect of a hot spring. Due to the high temperature, spring water is a also better solvent and allows more minerals and salts to be dissolved in it.
Sembawang Hot Spring's water can reach a temperature of 131°C or 270 °F underground running out at a yield of 150 litres per minute. Do becareful while handling spring water as it is boiling hot and can scald. Do pay close attention if you are bringing kids along to this place.
The exact source of Sembawang Hot Spring is still unknown, however it is believed that its origin maybe southwest of its location, possibly at Bukit Timah.
Singapore sits on the stable Asian continental plate Sundaland. It composed mainly of Granite and minor Gabbro, intruded into a km thick blanket of contemporary acid volcanics and partly covered by Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic sediments. Sembawang Hot Spring lies over a Granite bedrock which stretches from north to central Singapore including Bukit Timah Hill.
Usually, granite bedrock is not permeable for hot springs to occur unless it is well fractured. Studies on stress vectors in Sumatra section of Australian Plate collision in the Sumatra-Java trench, subduction zone to the SW of Singapore and present day stress maps suggests that horizontal stress is orientated NE/SW in neighbouring Sumatra.
Coupled with measurements from joints and faults orientation of granite and gabbro quarries of Singapore, it suggest that the strong NE/SW orientation of open joints sets will preferentially channel ground water in a NE/SW direction (Sembawang) from its watersheds (Bukit Timah Hill) which thus gave rise to Sembawang Hot Spring.
Buses available to this area are 167, 856, 858, 859, 969 or 980. If you are driving, you can always park at the nearby HBD carparks. Opening hours are from 7am - 7pm daily. Entrance is free.
Do bring along a tower and a small pail to collect spring water. You might want to bring a small stool as well though there are some plastic chairs around for use.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sembawang_Hot_Spring
http://nus.academia.edu/GrahameOliver/Papers/155717/Geothermal_Energy_Concept_for_Singapore
To log this Earthcache, please email me your answers to the following questions:
1. Bring a bottle of drinking water (preferably boiled tap water) and obtain some spring water from the premise. Smell the difference between the two. Describe what you smell.
2. Find out what other purpose was the spring water at Sembawang Hot Spring used for and fill in the blanks _____ per ______ oz ______
3. Bring a thermometer and measure the temperature of the spring water. How hot is it? There are couple of spring outlets at GZ, compare and give me your highest temperature measurement (Thermometer used should be able to measure up to 100 degree celcius)
4. Post an optional picture of you holding your GPS with the below picture as background. 