Radium Springs EarthCache
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Radium Springs are the hottest and strongest natural Radium Springs in the world. Radium springs is located 16 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, just west of Interstate 25 Exit 19. Take Exit 19 then turn West to Tel High Road. Turn right again and follow the Road to the listed coordinates.There is no need to go into the resort. Coordinates are on County Roads.
GEOLOGY AND HYDROGEOLOGY Radium Springs lies within the Rio Grande rift, which covers an area of approximately 6,500 mi2 in central New Mexico. A rift is a long, narrow feature where the Earth's crust is being pulled apart by plate tectonic forces. Figure 1 Diagram of formation of the Rio Grande rift. The Rio Grande rift is still active today. Low intensity earthquakes are common in this region. The warm mineral waters at Radium Springs are further proof of an active rift. The springs are part of a shallow geothermal system that is contained in a highly fractured rhyolite that intruded the Eocene Palm Park Formation (Ross and Witcher, 1998). Figure 2: The Formation of a Geothermal Reservoir In the case of the picture below the Rhyolitic Dome would have been uplifted in the center. At Radium Hot Springs, a low angle, north-dipping rhyolite dike acts as the conduit or “hydrogeologic discharge window” out of the deep Precambrian-Paleozoic reservoir for thermal water flow to the surface across the Palm Park aquitard (Witcher, 1988 and 2001). Because the shallow rhyolite dike of probable Oligocene age is also highly fractured, it forms a shallow outflow plume reservoir at Radium Springs that ultimately discharges thermal water into the near surface river gravels and sands of the Rio Grande. Logging Requirements: Email Answers to Cache Owner 1.) Take Picture of you and your GPSr at Cache coordinates. with Rhyolite Dome in Background. 2.) Take another Picture With your GPSr at N32 30.105, W 106 55.712 Bathhouse ruins. 3.) What type of Springs and Wells are these? 4.) Given an average Water temperature of 43 to 85C, Convert this to Farenheit. 5.) The average depth of springs and wells 55 to 100 meters. Convert to feet. 6.) What is the Unit of measure for the Radium and Uranium in the Spring Water.
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