Page 149 - 1915, Springs of CA.

HOT SPRINGS. 137

HOT SPRINGS NEAB TECOPA (INYO 35).
About 2 miles north of Tecopa railroad station two hot springs
issue on alkaline slopes that border the eastern side of an alkaline
marsh along Amargosa Kiver. The springs rise in pits that have been
dug about 10 yards apart, and their combined flow is about 225 gal-
lons a minute. The observed temperatures were 108° and 109°.
Near the springs are heavy alkaline deposits of soda and common
salt, and the water tastes noticeably, though not disagreeably, of the
alkalies. In 1908 the water was piped to a railroad watering tank
half a mile westward. It has also been used to some extent for bath-
ing at a pool near the springs.
The water issues at the southwest base of a steep hill of quartzite
that dips about 15° NE. The structure suggests that the hill forms
part of a range that has been faulted and tilted in the manner char-
acteristic of the Basin Ranges and that the springs rise along the
zone of fracture. Other warm seepages rise in marsh land a mile
southward and probably have the same origin.

SARATOGA SPRINGS (SAN BERNAKDENO 3).
Saratoga Springs, situated at the eastern border of south Death
Valley, at the base of the Black Mountains, have long been known to
desert travelers, but they are hidden from view at a distance by a
narrow rocky spur on the south and by sand dunes on the north and
west. As there is plenty of water at the place and a considerable
area overgrown with marsh grass, prospectors usually stop here
for a few days to allow their animals to rest after excursions into the
surrounding mountains, and in 1908 a stone cabin and other build-
ings were being erected by parties who had mining claims in the
mountains near by.
The principal spring forms a pool about 25 by 35 feet in diameter
and 3 feet deep, in whose sandy bottom the water can be seen rising
at a dozen or more places. The temperature of the water is about
82°, and the pool is inhabited by many small fish, which have been
identified by Prof. J. 0. Snyder as Cyprinodonmacularius, the species
that live in other desert springs of similar character. At three
other points along the base of the hills, 100 to 250 yards northeast-
ward from the main spring, water has been obtained by excavating
into the slopes. An area of marsh grass, tules, and open water ex-
tends 600 yards northward from the springs, but on account of the
great evaporation the area of open water varies much with the sea-
son. The water tastes distinctly of alkali, but it has formed no
noticeable alkaline deposits.
The mountains to the northeast consist of hard, altered limestones
and sandstones that dip 25°-50° E. Some granitic rock is also