Miette
Hot Springs
Miette
Hot Springs have the highest measured temperatures in Alberta, at 53.9ºC.
Hot mineral waters have had a reputation for centuries for their therapeutic
powers. From a geological perspective, hot springs provide evidence of
the faulted and fractured rock beneath out feet.
Rainwater
slowly filters down through faults, fractures and pores in rocks. This
is the water that later returns to the surface as hot springs. As the
water seeps down, it becomes increasingly heated by the surrounding rocks
- the rocks are heated by the radioactive decay of some minerals within
the earth's crust.
After
the water has descended several kilometres, it will be heated above its
boiling temperature, although the immense pressure beneath the earth's
surface will prevent it from actually boiling. Hot water rises upward
and the numerous fractures and faults in the Rocky Mountains provide the
perfect conduits for rapid flow back to the surface. The more direct the
route, the hotter the water will be when it reaches the surface.
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