| Title | An Investigation of the Hot Mineral Spa Geothermal Area, Riverside and Imperial Counties, California |
|---|---|
| Authors | Craig Hunter, Christy |
| Year | 1992 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | Direct Use; Exploration; USA; California; Riverside; Imperial; Low Temperature; Oxygen; Isotopes; Hydrothermal; Hydrogen; Equilibrium Temperature; Tritium; Geothermometers; San Andreas Fault; Salton Sea |
| Abstract | Low temperature (78°C=54°C) geothermal water is produced in commercial quantities from shallow (30 m - 165 m) , artesian wells that were drilled din an area located along the northeastern margin of the Imperial Valley, southeastern California. This area, known locally as the Hot Mineral Spa Geothermal Area (HMSGA), encompasses about 11 km2 (4.3 mi). The origin of the low temperature water is meteoric as inferred from hydrogen oxygen isotopic analyses. Neither local, present day precipitation nor evaporated Colorado River water is a probable source. Instead, the isotopic composition of these thermal waters indicate that the geothermal reservoir may have been recharged during a time when the climate was colder and the annual precipitation was greater. |