>The system is what geologists call a fault-controlled non-volcanic geothermal feature.
These are quite common. Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas is a notable example. Most of the hot springs in Idaho are on fault lines, as are the hot springs along Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierras (though there is Quaternary volcanism in the region, it's not the source of heat), and through much of the rest of the Intermountain West.
This site seems to be unique for both the volume and the temperature of water, though. I'd be curious to know how far away the water originated, and how deep it goes before being heated. The crust in the area is not known to be particularly hot, as far as I know, unlike the Basin and Range of the western US where tectonic stretching and thinning of the crust has brought the hot mantle much closer to the surface and increased the geothermal gradient.
If you click on the little resorts/hotels/towns around the area, there are many pictures and videos of steam rising of this little river. It's obvious the area is well frequented by tourists. Not as remote as I thought it would be.
Life existing at the extreme of liquid water is indeed unique. Dropping some of them into the boiling oceans of Enceladus and waiting a hundred years would be a fun experiment.
It's all fun and games until the mutant spiders fight the mutant ants in large-scale wars, and somehow eventually starts being able to contact us back at earth.
>The system is what geologists call a fault-controlled non-volcanic geothermal feature.
These are quite common. Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas is a notable example. Most of the hot springs in Idaho are on fault lines, as are the hot springs along Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierras (though there is Quaternary volcanism in the region, it's not the source of heat), and through much of the rest of the Intermountain West.
This site seems to be unique for both the volume and the temperature of water, though. I'd be curious to know how far away the water originated, and how deep it goes before being heated. The crust in the area is not known to be particularly hot, as far as I know, unlike the Basin and Range of the western US where tectonic stretching and thinning of the crust has brought the hot mantle much closer to the surface and increased the geothermal gradient.
It's located here for those wondering: https://maps.app.goo.gl/js7miFSkRBa86t15A?g_st=ac
If you click on the little resorts/hotels/towns around the area, there are many pictures and videos of steam rising of this little river. It's obvious the area is well frequented by tourists. Not as remote as I thought it would be.
> there is essentially no scientific explanation for its existence
The heat comes from Yacumama, a great serpent-spirit called the Mother of the Waters.
Wind, fire, all that kind of thing!
> What he found is one of the strangest hydrothermal features on Earth. Not because it is extremely hot
Neat! I wonder what's so strange about it besides the heat
> because there is essentially no scientific explanation for its existence.
Wait whut
This article is AI slop. There is a reasonable scientific explanation... which the article actually goes in to! Ugh, LLMs.
> fault-controlled non-volcanic geothermal feature.
Also known as a great serpent-spirit known as "Mother of the Waters"
Life existing at the extreme of liquid water is indeed unique. Dropping some of them into the boiling oceans of Enceladus and waiting a hundred years would be a fun experiment.
It's all fun and games until the mutant spiders fight the mutant ants in large-scale wars, and somehow eventually starts being able to contact us back at earth.
Yeah, but they also bring along some <rot13-spoiler>bpgbcv naq eniraf, naq na vafnar sbezre-uhzna ehaavat ba na nag-onfrq fhofgengr.</rot13-spoiler>
I'm getting WH40k or Helldivers 2 vibes from this.
"Purge the xenos!"