mudpot
{{short description|Hot spring, or fumarole, with limited water}}
File:Mudpot at Lassen Volcanic National Park in August 2019.webm]]
File:Mudpots at Hverarönd.jpg, Iceland]]
A mudpot, or mud pool, is a type of acidic hot spring, or fumarole, with limited water. It usually takes the form of a pool of bubbling mud, as a result of the acid and microorganisms decomposing surrounding rock into clay and mud.
Description
The mud of a mudpot takes the form of a viscous, often bubbling, slurry. As the boiling mud is often squirted over the brims of the mudpot, a form resembling a mini-volcano of mud starts to build up, sometimes reaching heights of {{cvt|1|to|1.5|m|ft|frac=2}}.{{cite web|last1=Kleinschmidt|first1=Janice|title=Sea of Wonders|date=28 February 2006 |url=http://www.palmspringslife.com/sea-of-wonders/|publisher=Palms Springs Life|access-date=21 January 2017}} Although mudpots are often called "mud volcanoes", true mud volcanoes are very different in nature. The mud of a mudpot is generally of white to greyish color, but is sometimes stained with reddish or pink spots from iron compounds. When the slurry is particularly colorful, the feature may be referred to as a paint pot.{{cite journal|last1=Chilton|title=Death Valley Dodge with O.K. Parker st the Wheel|journal=Motor Agr|year=1916|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vn1CAQAAMAAJ&q=death+valley+paint+pot&pg=RA11-PA20|access-date=21 January 2017}}
Geology
Mudpots form in high-temperature geothermal areas where water supply is short. The little water that is available rises to the surface at a spot where the soil is rich in volcanic ash, clay, and other fine particulates. The thickness of the mud usually changes along with seasonal changes in the water table.{{Cite web |title=Mudpots - Old Faithful Virtual Visitor Center |url=https://www.nps.gov/features/yell/ofvec/exhibits/treasures/thermals/mudpots/mudpotseasons.htm |access-date=2023-04-21 |website=www.nps.gov}}{{Cite journal |last1=Lynch |first1=D. K. |last2=Hudnut |first2=K. W. |date=2008-08-01 |title=The Wister Mud Pot Lineament: Southeastward Extension or Abandoned Strand of the San Andreas Fault? |url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/12061/1/LYNbssa08.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America |language=en |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=1720–1729 |doi=10.1785/0120070252 |bibcode=2008BuSSA..98.1720L |issn=0037-1106|url-access= }}
Notable sites
The geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park contain several notable examples of both mudpots and paint pots, as do some areas of Azerbaijan, Iceland, New Zealand and Nicaragua.
Several locations in and around the Salton Sea in California are also home to active mudpots,{{Cite web | url=http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/salton/PeriscopeSaltonSeaCh7-9.html | title=The Salton Sea: California;s Overlooked Treasure — Chapter 8 — Mudpots, Geysers and Mullet Island | last1=Laflin | first1=Patricia B. | publisher=San Diego State University | access-date=21 January 2017}} including the moving Niland Geyser.{{cite journal|url=https://trid.trb.org/view/1692604
|title=The meandering Mundo Mud Pot: Or how Salton Sea tectonics affect international trade|last1=Francuch|first1=Dean G|last2=Deane|first2=Travis|last3=Zamora|first3=Carol|journal=Proceedings of the 70th Highway Geology Symposium|year=2019|page=439-456}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bubbling-pool-mud-moving-california-dont-know-why-geology|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225163129/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bubbling-pool-mud-moving-california-dont-know-why-geology|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 25, 2021|date=November 9, 2018|last=Andrews|first=Robin George|title=A bubbling pool of mud is on the move, and no one knows why|work=National Geographic}} In the case of Niland Geyser, its name is somewhat of a misnomer, as the release of carbon dioxide by seismic activity from the nearby San Andreas Fault is responsible for its behaviour, rather than through geothermal activity. The fluid contained within it is near ambient atmospheric temperature, rather than boiling, measuring around {{cvt|80|F|C|order=flip}}.{{Cite web |date=2018-11-01 |title=A San Andreas fault mystery: The 'slow-moving disaster' in an area where the Big One is feared |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-niland-mud-pot-20181101-story.html |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}
Photo gallery
File:Mudpot west thumb 20190717 135010 VID.webm|A large boiling mudpot in the parking area of West Thumb Geyser Basin in Yellowstone
Image:Fountain Paint Pots in Yellowstone-750px.JPG|Fountain Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park
Image:MudPot_8334.jpg|Mudpot in Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcanic National Park
Image:Yellowstone mud pot p1090998.jpg|Mudpot in Yellowstone National Park
Image:RincónMudpot Apr2003.jpg|Mudpot at Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park, Costa Rica
Image:Mud pool near Waiotapu.ogg|Short video of mud pool activity near Waiotapu, New Zealand
File:Mud pool in Solfatara crater.jpg|The surface of a boiling mudpot in the crater of Solfatara, part of the Campi Flegrei complex, Italy
File:Mud pool at Orakei Korako.ogv|Video of mud pool at Orakei Korako, New Zealand
Image:Hverir mudpool 2012-06-05.jpg|Erupting mudpot at Hverir, Iceland
Image:YellowstoneMudpit.jpg|A mud pot in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Mudpots}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150312232436/http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/mudpots.htm Mudpots at Yellowstone National Park official site]
- [https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=A36443D7-1DD8-B71B-0BC444EC1CC3AF17 Mudpots photo gallery at Yellowstone NP official site]