How are hot springs created?
When we talk about hot or thermal springs, these are defined as springs where the temperature of water lies significantly above the mean annual air temperature of the region.” A mineral spring is defined as one that contains a reading of 400 parts/million of total dissolved solids. Both types of spring are found from Mexico to Alaska. In the case of the thermal springs in the Rockies, their formation tends to be quite consistent. As rain falls on the surrounding peaks, it percolated into the rather porous sedimentary rocks. As it descends through the rock, it picks up a variety of materials, everything from radium to sulphur. Also, as it moves further beneath the surface, it heats up from the primal heat of the Earth. Eventually, it encounters a large thrust fault, or crack. As water descends behind it, it forces the now heated water to ascend along the fault-line to surface as a hot or warm spring. In Banff, it is the Sulphur Mountain Thrust Fault that is responsible for the 8 hot and
