Page 318 - 1915, Springs of CA.

298 SPRINGS OF CALIFORNIA.
Analysis of water from main spring, Complexion Springs, Lake County, Cal.
[Analyst and authority, F. M. Eaton (1910). Constituents are in parts per million.]

Properties of reaction:
94
0
0
Primary alkalinity. ............................................................. 6
Trace.
Tertiary alkalinity."............................................................. Trace.
By Reacting
Constituents. weight. values.
Sodium (Na)................................., ...................................... 10,295 447. 61
Potassium (K)...................................................................... 223 5.70
150 8.31
Calcium (Ca).. . ..................................................................... 6.9 .34
Magnesium (Mg) ..................................................................... Trace. Trace.
Iron (Fe).. .......................................................................... [ Trace. Trace.
Sulphate (SO*)................. ...................................................... 47 .99
Chloride (Cl)...................................... .................................. 15.400 434.29
178 10.47
Carbonate (COO ...................................'................................. 456 15.20
Metaborate (B02). .................................................................. Trace. Trace.
0 .00
0 .00
Sflica(SiOj)...........................................:............................. 2.8 .09
26, 758. 7
0 .00
0 .00
The second pool, which is 5 or 6 yards southwest of the main one
and is somewhat smaller, also yields a slight flow of clear salty
ammoniacal water, but a precipitate does not form in it. The third
pool, about 5 yards farther south, was not overflowing when visited
in July, 1910. It contained brown-stained water that tasted strongly
of salt but not of ammonia. Water from the principal spring has
been used locally as a nasal douche and as a wash for sores.
The water issues from decomposed serpentine, but altered sediments
are exposed in the ravine near by. Although the yield of Complexion
Springs is small, their continual flow and strong mineralization indi-
cate that their source is deeper and more permanent than would be
furnished by surface seepage. The chemical character of the water
indicates that it receives its salt content from the sedimentary beds,
whereas the ammonia is possibly formed by chemical reactions of the
minerals of the decomposed serpentine, perhaps by the action of
ferrous sulphate on organic matter.
SALT SPRING NORTH OF SITES (COLTTSA 4).
On the Peterson ranch, 3^ miles north of Sites, there is a salt spring
whose water has been used for many years to supply stock salt for
the use of the ranch by evaporating the brine in shallow troughs.
The spring has no surface overflow, as it forms a pool in a salt flat
where the discharge seeps away, but the quantity of water is sufficient
to supply several evaporating troughs. The rocks of the locality are