Springs (Hot)
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Three miles from Alturas, another USGS thermal point carries the label Springs (Hot), and it earns it: the water measures well into the hot range. The springs sit essentially on the road. Bureau of Land Management land, Black Rock Field Office, with public access open. A water sample from 2020 makes this the best documented of the three Springs (Hot) points near Alturas.
Roadside means roadside here, the source a few feet from the roadway. No road name is given. Open BLM land at moderate elevation, with winter snow totals a bit over two feet and a dry year otherwise. The record places it in Modoc County.
Midwinter is the season the record points to. The water is hot enough to burn, so do not step in at the source. A sample from September 2020 came back alkaline, with low dissolved solids and a mix of calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfate and chloride. No camping or fee on record. Roadside, so no walk.
Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Springs (Hot).
- Setting
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 11 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the north
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about twice the US average of 65. It's higher than at 72% of the springs on this site.
Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
The water at Springs (Hot) is alkaline (pH 8.7) with 256 mg/L total dissolved solids.
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Springs (Hot) is road-accessible, so you can bring more gear. The water runs hot, so extra hydration is key.
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