Mudpot

A mud pot ( also mud bubbling, English:. Mud pot), is a hot spring that is formed in geothermally active areas in low groundwater inflow.

Operation

Groundwater feeds the source; a lot of it evaporates, the remaining water is rising along with superheated steam and volcanic gases at a particular place on the surface where the soil is rich in Volcanic ash, clay or other fine particles that are mixed with water to form slurry.

The mud takes the form of a viscous, often bubbling boiling by the water vapor suspension.

Relation to the fumaroles

Mud pots thus represent a special manifestations of fumaroles and are showing signs of low volcanic activity. This may be decreasing, but they may also, if a new field forms with such mud pots or an old, previously dried-up is revived, to the contrary, namely for increasing volcanic activity (see, eg Hveragerði in Iceland ).

The exhalations from simple fumaroles contain compared to those of mud pots smaller amounts of water vapor, so it does not come to the formation of sludge.

Color and composition

The volcanic mud is generally of white to gray in color ( sulfur compounds ), sometimes pass through admixtures of iron and red or pink colored portions on. Sources with such bright colors are also paint pots ( pots of paint ) called. The sludge can no longer form of usually than one to two meters in height, under certain conditions volcano -shaped cone.

Examples

In the geothermally active areas of Yellowstone National Park in the north of the USA or in the vicinity of Lake Mývatn in Iceland can be found eg some notable examples of mud pots.

Mud volcanoes

A related geological phenomenon represent the mud volcanoes

Photos

A mud pot in Kraflagebiet in Iceland

View into a mud pot in Yellowstone National Park

Boiling mud at Námafjall, Iceland

Mud bubbling on Námaskarð, Iceland

Mud pot on Sakhalin

In the National Park Rincón de la Vieja, Costa Rica