EARTHCACHE REQUIREMENTS
Each cacher must send his/her own answers BEFORE logging a find. Enjoy the journey (learning adventure) as well as the destination (smiley earned). Remember to take only pictures and leave only footprints. To get credit for this Earthcache, complete the following tasks:
1. MESSAGE …. Based on the reading, what is the source of the thermal water?
2. MESSAGE …. The diagram shows the fault line, which allows the thermal water to surface at Bathhouse Row. Do you see evidence of that fault? Explain.
3. MESSAGE …. Experience the thermal water by dipping your fingers into the water. How long (seconds) were you able to keep your fingers immersed?
4. MESSAGE …. The picture shown on the page is from the NPS. Give two differences in the flow of thermal water between what is pictured on the page and what you observe at the posted coordinates.
5. LOG …. Post a picture of you or your signature item at or near the coordinates. This picture is your log signature.
OPTIONAL - Please respect the time and effort involved in creating this earthcache by adding A and B to your log.
A. JOURNEY OF THE MIND ... Science explains what we observe. Relate (in your own words) something you found interesting in the reading. This adds to your learning adventure and your log.
B. JOURNEY OF THE HEART ... Art shares our personal experience of what we see. Share something special you found on site, and why it is special to you. This is a memorable addition to your log and will make other hearts smile.
Journeys of Heart and Mind ...
Stories to Touch the Heart and Puzzles to Challenge the Mind / Rainbow Tree Story
THANK YOU Ranger Nalissala Allen for permission to share this learning adventure.
The thermal waters are not from hot magmas, but rather from rainwater 4,000 years old heated to an average temperature of 143° F (61°C). The rainwater slowly percolated deep within the earth heating as it descended. The rocks are cut by large faults, providing the water a rapid escape route to the surface before it cooled. This process of slow descending and rapid ascending created the hot spring.
Three factors are responsible for the flow of water to the surface. 1. Elevation. Even though the water descends to great depths, it emerges at a depth lower than what it went in. 2. Heat. Hot water becomes buoyant and rises. 3. Fractured Rocks. Large amounts of water are collected from a broad area and funneled rapidly up through a narrow escape route.
Thermal springs are common in the western states, but rare in this part of the country.The unusual set of geologic conditions of the Ouachita Mountains described above, have created and maintained the flow of hot waters here in this small valley in central Arkansas.
RESOURCES
Hot Springs National Park https://www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm
In Hot Water https://www.nps.gov/hosp/learn/nature/upload/In-Hot-Water12_newJuly.pdf
Geochemistry https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5263/