A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. The hot spring pools contain microorganisms known as thermophiles, a type of extremophile. They are organisms that exist in the most unlikely, unlivable, and extreme places, hence their name.
The color comes from the way that these thermophiles reflect the light of the sun. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth, but many of these wonderful water bodies are concentrated in the Yellowstone National Park.
To help you make your Hot Spring tour easier, below we represent the list of top 5 Hot Spring To Visit in the USA.
Grand Prismatic Spring
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.
Grand Prismatic Spring was noted by geologists working in the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, and named by them for its striking coloration. Its colors include blue, green, yellow, orange, gold, red and brown, and recall the rainbow disperson of white light by an optical prism.
The vivid colors in the spring are the result of pigmented bacteria in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The bacteria produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll to carotenoids and on the temperature of the water which favors one bacterium over another.
Sapphire Pool
Sapphire Pool is located in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The pool, with temperatures over 200°F (93°C), is named for its crystal-clear water and for its resemblance to an Oriental sapphire.
The pool changed dramatically after the 1959 earthquake and erupted up to 150 feet (45 m), but stopped by 1968.
Cistern Spring
Cistern Spring is located in the Yellowstone National Park. It used to be a small gray pool, but in 1966 it transformed into a very active, colorful spring, often overflowing creating terraces of minerals that killed nearby trees such as the ones in the background. The pool is often blue in color, but sometimes it is green, just like in the picture. The underground plumbing of Cistern Spring is linked to the nearby Steamboat Geyser, which when it erupts, is the tallest geyser in the world.
Crested Pool
Crested Pool is a hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The spring is 42 feet (12.8 m) deep. It is named for the "crest" which surrounds the pool. Although it is considered a spring, Crested Pool sometimes erupts like a geyser.
Doublet Pool
Doublet Pool is a hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This pool is 8 feet (2.4 m) deep and its temperature is approximately 194.4 °F (90.2 °C).
Its scalloped edge is made of geyserite. Although geysers rarely occur in Doublet Pool, with only two or three have been seen the pool on the right pulses over the vents about every two hours.
Occasionally there will be vibrations, surface wave motion, and thumping; these effects are caused by collapsing gas and steam bubbles deep underground.
(Source : The World Geography)
