Page 238 - 1915, Springs of CA.

220 SPRINGS OF CALIFORNIA.
edge of Little Shasta River, it is said to become cloudy on standing
and it has been used only locally for drinking.
A conical pile of lime carbonate that probably'marks an old spring
vent rises above a considerable deposit of the same material in a
barnyard 75 yards east of the spring, and a few yards above-the
spring lime-cemented gravel is also exposed along the creek. Neither
the Martin Spring nor the one on Little Shasta River is now depositing
noticeable amounts of lime carbonate, but the deposit near the first-
mentioned spring, and the lime-cemented gravel near each, suggest
that they did so at a time when their waters were warmer than they
are now.
Besides its location in the lava near Table Rock, the position of
Martin Soda Spring is of interest because the stream at whose edge
it rises issues in full volume 50 yards upstream from the spring.
This stream is mentioned later among the large cold springs. Its
position with respect to the carbonated spring may be accidental,
but it at least suggests that the cold water found an outlet through
old channels of the earlier, presumably thermal, carbonated spring.
SHASTA SPRINGS (SISE3YOTT 22).
Nearly all of the carbonated springs in the southern of the two gen-
eral localities that have been mentioned as lying along the western
side of the lava area in northern California are close to Sacramento
River. Shasta Springs, which are commercially the most important
ones in this locality, are at Shasta Springs station, on the east side
of Sacramento River. They were first- brought to general notice
in 1887, during the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad
along the river, and their commercial development was early begun.
A cemented drinking fountain and a spring house have been built
over the springs, so their direct source is no longer visible, but the
following description of their improvement has been published: 1
The ground immediately around the springs was cleared and the surface removed
to bedrock. * * *
Numerous small springs were discovered in the exposed surface of the bedrock.
All of these were carefully closed by the following method: The necks of bottles were
broken off and placed over the points of gas and water leakage, and surrounded with
cement, so that the gas and water could escape through the bottle necks and allow
the cement to harden. After the cement had set, the mouths of the bottle necks
were corked and a heavy layer of cement spread over them. The object of this was
to force everything into .the main fissure.
The main fissure of the Shasta Spring was arched over, with the exception of the
principal vent, over which a concrete reservoir was built. This reservoir was divided
into two compartments, the front being an open drinking basin for the use of the public,
and the rear a hermetically sealed reservoir, the interior dimensions of which are
1 Watts, W. L., Mineral springs in Siskiyou County: California State Mineralogist Eleventh Rept.,
pp. 449-450, 1893.