Hot Spring

Actively precipitating salts, and cool enough to support an algae population. It's about the temperature of the hot water from the tap. At the east edge of the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, right on the Jackson Ranch road. Yes, this area has geothermal potential, but it's protected from development by its proximity to the Black Rock wilderness. The left inset is a close-up of the spring itself, on the top of this sinter mound. The right inset is a view east from the top of the mound, showing an elongate ridge of spring deposits. Apparently a fault or fissure localizes the spring; hence the linear form of the deposits.
The outflow from the spring makes a little pond that evidently is valuable for livestock (adjacent photo).