How are geothermal reservoirs formed?
The tremendous heat from the earth’s core is under constant pressure to escape through the earth’s crust. As it moves closer to the surface it transfers (conducts) heat to the crustal rocks. The meteoric (surface) waters travel through fractures and faults in the rocks. The water is heated by the rocks. Rocks are poor conductors of heat while water is a good conductor. If the rocks are hot enough the water is turned into steam. The hot water or steam contained within the fractures, faults or pore spaces in the rocks form the geothermal reservoir.
