Geothermal Heat Map of US Hot Springs
8 hours ago
- Geothermal heat map shows hot springs across the US overlaid on ground heat flow data, with warm colors indicating faster heat rising.
- Heat flow measures warmth from deep Earth in milliwatts per square meter; US average is 65, but most of the West exceeds this due to thin crust and faults.
- Hot springs in the West form from rainwater sinking through cracks and heating from shallow hot rock; the East has few springs from deeper circulation.
- Top springs by heat flow include Steamboat Springs, Nevada (257 mW/m²) and several in California; hottest water is 266°F at Sherman Crater, Washington.
- Data sources include Stanford Thermal Earth Model, Landsat thermal imaging, and USGS; resources are freely reusable under CC BY 4.0.