Rabbitkettle Hot Springs
{{short description|Thermal spring in Northwest Territories, Canada}}
{{Infobox spring|name=|photo=|photo_width=|photo_caption=|map=Canada Northwest Territories|map_width=|map_caption=Location of Rabbitkettle Hot Springs in the Northwest Territories|name_origin=Dene|location=Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories|elevation=|coordinates={{coord|61|56|N|127|10|W}}|coords_ref=|hot_spring_type=hot spring|discharge=|temperature={{convert|21|C|abbr=on}}|depth=}}
Rabbitkettle Hot Springs is a naturally occurring hot spring located in the Northwest Territories of Canada.{{Cite web|url=http://www4.nrcan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique.php?id=LATQV|title=Place names – Rabbitkettle Hotsprings|last=Observation|first=Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Earth Sciences Sector, Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth|website=www4.nrcan.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2017-07-25}} The springs are found in the Nahanni National Park Reserve, along the South Nahanni River.{{Cite book|title=Natural Wonders of the World|publisher=Reader's Digest Association, Inc|year=1980|isbn=0-89577-087-3|editor-last=Scheffel|editor-first=Richard L.|location=United States of America|pages=309|editor-last2=Wernet|editor-first2=Susan J.}} Rabbitkettle Hot Springs are situated on a limestone plateau and comprise two large travertine mounds.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRQ9YWG9kZcC&pg=PA74|title=Nahanni River Guide|last1=Hartling|first1=Neil|last2=Jowett|first2=Peter|date=2003|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books Ltd|isbn=9781894765404|language=en}} At {{Convert|20|m}} high and {{Convert|70|m|abbr=on}} in diameter, the free-standing North Mound is the largest travertine mound in Canada.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VpkuDEcMLl0C&pg=PA1796|title=Voyages: Canada's Heritage Rivers (soft cover)|last1=Noel|first1=Lynn E.|last2=Environment|first2=Atlantic Center for the|date=1995|publisher=Breakwater Books|isbn=9781550810998|language=en}} The South Mound has grown into a nearby hillside and is not as tall. They are the only tufa mounds in the world known to be located on permafrost.{{Sfn|Hartling|Jowett|2003|pp=181-182}} The mounds are multi-coloured and tiered.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32262062/norths_nahanni_captivates_with/|title=North's Nahanni captivates with strength, beauty|last1=Thompson|first1=Peter|date=June 26, 1999|work=Calgary Herald|access-date=2019-06-04|last2=Harrison|first2=Marion|via=Newspapers.com}}
The name Rabbitkettle comes from the Dene word gahnhthah, meaning "kettle".{{Cite web|url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/nt/nahanni/decouvrir-discover/natcul1c#rab|title=Geology and Geomorphology|last=Canada|first=Parks Canada Agency, Government of|website=www.pc.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2017-07-25}} The translation was adopted by English-speaking locals as "Rabbitkettle", from the peculiar shapes of the basins in the area.{{Cite web|url=http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/database-of-nwt-geographic-names/|title=NWT Place Names Database – CPSPG {{!}} PWNHC|website=www.pwnhc.ca|language=en-CA|id=LATQV|access-date=2017-07-25}} The springs were considered a sacred place to the Dene, who left offerings such as tobacco to ensure good fortune.
Formation
The water in the springs originates from a fault in the limestone plateau, and the mechanics of piping pseudokarst draw hot water from nearly {{Cvt|2000|m}} deep in the earth upwards through the fault.{{Sfn|Hartling|Jowett|2003|pp=181-182}}
The water emerges in a central pool at the top of the mound and flows downward through a terrace of surrounding pools. The travertine walls of these pools can be as tall as {{Convert|30|cm|abbr=on}}, and range in colour from grey to off-white. The spring water is rich in dissolved minerals from the limestone, such as calcium carbonate. These minerals are deposited on any surface the water flows over, gradually coating it and forming tufa structures known as rimstone dams and gours. Eventually, the older pools begin to fill with deposited minerals, which causes the water to spill over the edges and form new pools.
The pools were formed after the end of the last glacial period, some 10,000 years ago, when the continental ice caps retreated.