Page 124 - 1915, Springs of CA.

116 SPRINGS OF CALIFORNIA.
is 180° and the discharge is perhaps 25 gallons a minute. Another
spring that yields perhaps 8 gallons a minute, of water 170° in tem-
perature emerges at the south side of the bathhouse. These springs
were formerly on the northern bank of a creek that entered the river
near this point, but about 1897, to protect the springs, the discharge
of the creek was diverted by a ditch that was cut several yards to
the east. The stream has deepened this ditch to a steep-sided gully
in the bed of which hot water forms pools at two places, and near its
mouth a stream of hot water that discharges perhaps 8 gallons a
minute issues from the gravel bluff halfway down its side. At
places about 85 and 150 to 175 yards west of the bathhouse small
amounts of warm water issue near or below high-water mark, and
along the lower 65 yards of the zone of hot springs water with ob-
served temperatures of 100° to 165° and flows of 4 to 10 gallons a
minute issues in at
least six places.
The water is not
noticeably sulphu-
reted and, as it is
hard, it probably
contains a rather
large amount of cal-
cium.
The upper and
lower groups of
springs issue from
the gravel that bor-
ders the river, but
the warm seepages
FIGUEE 2. Sketch map showing positions of Big Bend Hot Springs,
Shasta County, Cal. between them issue
from a porphyritic
quartz diorite that appears to be intruded into the old sediments
of the locality. The hot springs probably afford a good example of
underground water that has become heated by rock of this character.
The position of the springs and the exposure of the intrusive rock
at Big Bend are shown in figure 2.
The property has been open as a resort by the present owners
since about 1905. Accommodations for guests have been provided
by a small hotel near the springs and in summer by tents also. The
situation of the springs is remote, but they are yearly visited by a
number of people who desire a quiet vacation.
HOT SPRINGS ON KOSK CHEEK (SHASTA 7).
About 2 miles north of Big Bend Hot Springs two or three other
thermal springs rise along the bed of Kosk Creek. One of these
flows into a small rock basin and is occasionally used for bathing.