Soborom Hot Springs

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Soborom
Chad relief location map.jpg
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Soborom
Highest point
Elevation 2,400 m (7,900 ft) [1]
Coordinates 20°56′N17°11′E / 20.933°N 17.183°E / 20.933; 17.183 [1]
Naming
Etymology Name of a hot spring in the field
Native nameSoborom  (Tedaga)
English translationBoiling water

Soborom is a group of hot springs with accompanying fumaroles and mud volcanoes in the Tibesti Mountains of Chad. Three dispersed groups of vents are active there, some of which are used as spas by the local population.

Contents

Name and use

The name "Soborom" means "boiling water" in Tedaga; it refers to the hottest spring and has been applied to the entire field. Kidissubi means "dog fighting a mouflon". [2] The springs are sometimes named "Yerike", [3] and other times "Soborom" is translated as "healing waters". Reportedly the local people use the springs as a spa, but the political situation makes access to the area difficult. [4]

Geography and springs

Soborom lies in the Tibesti Mountains of the Sahara. [4] The Soborom is a depression carved by erosion 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) (or 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) [1] ) west of the Tarso Voon caldera and is surrounded by various mountains such as the 2,685-metre (8,809 ft) high Ehi Duduri, the 2,615-metre (8,579 ft) high Ehi Tadare and the 2,600-metre (8,500 ft) high Ehi Guma; [5] the Ehi Duduri is already part of the Tarso Voon caldera rim. [6] The Soborom depression and a similar structure at Souradom farther south are both volcano-tectonic domes which now form depressions; geothermal processes are only known from Soborom however. [7]

Thermal activity is focused in three areas, an isolated northern one [8] 600 metres (2,000 ft) north of the others, [2] a central one and a southern one. [8] There, between 2,400–2,510 metres (7,870–8,230 ft) elevation lie clusters of exhalations, fumaroles, hot springs, mud volcanoes, solfataras [9] and reportedly a geyser as well. [4] In some places the ground is hot enough that standing there is uncomfortable. [10]

The temperatures of the vents range between 30–80 °C (86–176 °F) and hydrogen sulfide exhalations give them a rotten egg smell, and their waters are acidic [2] probably due to the presence of sulfuric acid. [11] The springs produce small quantities of water—averaged over the entire field only a few litres per minute—that is quite muddy due to the high content of particles. This water forms mud bubbles that when bursting can throw fragments several tens of centimetres away; they form the 1–2-metre (3 ft 3 in–6 ft 7 in) high mud volcanoes. [2]

The central and southern areas are located on dry valleys. [8] Within the depression, various drainages converge into the southwestward flowing Enneri Soborom-Souradom, which has incised the hot spring deposits [5] and is itself the site of the western area. [12] A waterfall lies in the area, [10] and there are two noticeable river terraces as well which feature thermal activity. [13]

The activity has eroded the country rocks and left deposits, including sulfur and geyserites, sulfates and chlorides, which are generated by the deposition of the gases and chemical reactions between the gases and the air. [2] The sulfur often forms flower-like structures at the gas vents. [14] The exhalations are extremely corrosive, consuming tinplate within a few weeks and turning the rock into a porridge-like substance. [15]

Individual vents

The individual areas feature the following structures:

Now-inactive springs, fumaroles and geysers have covered parts of the area with 10–20-metre (33–66 ft) thick geyserite deposits, which bear traces of the former vents. [5] The inactive area is bordered by dry valleys on the north and the south, while the central and southern active areas are located directly north and west, respectively. [8]

Geology

The Tibesti Mountains formed through an interplay of tectonic phenomena and volcanism, with the central high sector of the mountains formed by Cenozoic volcanism, while the lower parts were formed during Precambrian to Cenozoic age. [18] The volcanic activity covered an area of about 14,000 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi) and took various forms, including deep craters, large calderas, shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes. [19] At Soborom, these volcanics crop out in various series known as the "Middle Dark Series", "Middle Bright Series" and "Upper Dark Series". [5]

Related Research Articles

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Geothermal areas in Lassen Volcanic National Park

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Emi Koussi High pyroclastic shield volcano in the Sahara

Emi Koussi is a high pyroclastic shield volcano that lies at the southeast end of the Tibesti Mountains in the central Sahara, in the northern Borkou Region of northern Chad. The highest mountain of the Sahara, the volcano is one of several in the Tibesti range, and reaches an elevation of 3,415 metres (11,204 ft), rising 3 km (1.9 mi) above the surrounding sandstone plains. The volcano is 60–70 kilometres (37–43 mi) wide and has a volume of 2,500 cubic kilometres (600 cu mi).

El Tatio Geyser field located in the Andes Mountains, Chile

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Mount Katmai Stratovolcano in Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA

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Tibesti Mountains Mountain range in the Sahara

The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of 3,415 meters (11,204 ft) and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five volcanoes topped by large depressions: Emi Koussi, Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools and deposits of natron and sulfur. Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands.

Toussidé Stratovolcano in Chad

Toussidé is a potentially active stratovolcano in Chad. Toussidé lies in the Tibesti Mountains, the large Yirrigué caldera and the smaller Trou au Natron and Doon Kidimi craters are close to it. It has an elevation of 3,265 m (10,712 ft) above sea level. The volcano is the source of a number of lava flows, which have flowed westward away from Toussidé and east into the Yirrigué caldera.

Taftan (volcano) Volcano mountain in Iran

Taftan is an active stratovolcano in south-eastern Iran in the Sistan and Baluchestan province. With variable heights reported, all around 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level, it is the highest mountain in south-eastern Iran. The nearest city is Khash.

Tarso Voon

The Tarso Voon is a 3,100-metre (10,200 ft) high stratovolcano in the north of the Republic of Chad. It is located in the western center of the Tibesti Mountains.

Trou au Natron

Trou au Natron or Doon Orei is a volcanic caldera of the Tibesti Massif in the nation of Chad in Northern Africa. The volcano is extinct. It is unknown when it last erupted. Its volcano number is 0205–01. Trou au Natron is located just south-east of Toussidé, the westernmost volcano of the Tibesti Mountains. Its edge cuts into the nearby Yirrigue caldera.

Putana (volcano)

Putana, sometimes referred to as Jorqencal or Machuca, is a stratovolcano located In the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes on the border between Bolivia and Chile and close to the Sairecabur volcanic complex. Its summit is 5,884 metres (19,304 ft) above sea level and contains a summit crater with two smaller craters nested within it. Beneath the summit, the volcano features a number of lava domes and lava flows, some of which originated in flank vents.

Sollipulli Volcanic mountain in Chile

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Mount Binuluan

Mount Binuluan is a remote volcano in the Kalinga province of the Cordillera Administrative Region of the Philippines. The 2,329-metre-high (7,641 ft) mountain is part of the Cordillera Central mountain range on Luzon island, the largest island in the country. Binuluan exhibits active volcanism through numerous fumarole fields, solfataras and hot springs on its slope. There were reports of possible eruptions in 1952 and 1986, but they are unverified.

Tarso Toon

Tarso Toon is a volcano in the central Tibesti mountains.

Tarso Yega

Tarso Yega is a stratovolcano in Tibesti, with a summit caldera that is 19 by 20 kilometres wide and 300 metres (980 ft) deep. The summit of the volcano reaches a height of 2,972 metres (9,751 ft), and its caldera is the largest caldera of the Tibesti. Neighbouring volcanoes include Doudriki east, Ehi Dosoatou south and Ehi Fodoboro southwest of the caldera. The Enneri Yega river drains the caldera westward and then south, before joining the Enneri Debarsar; in the past (Holocene) the rivers reached Lake Chad.

Deriba (caldera) Volcanic formation in Darfur, Sudan

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Tarso Emi Chi

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Mount Rittmann Volcano in Antarctica

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Kemp Caldera and Kemp Seamount form a submarine volcano south of the South Sandwich Islands, in a region where several seamounts are located. The seamount rises to a depth of 80 metres (260 ft) below sea level; the caldera has a diameter of 8.3 by 6.5 kilometres and reaches a depth of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft). The caldera contains several Hydrothermal vents, including white smokers and diffuse venting areas, which are host to chemolithotrophic ecological communities. The seamount and caldera, which were discovered by seafloor mapping in 2009, are part of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area.

Guallatiri Mountain in Parinacota Province Chile

Guallatiri is a 6,071-metre (19,918 ft) high volcano in Chile. It is located southwest of the Nevados de Quimsachata volcanic group and is sometimes considered to be part of that group. It is a stratovolcano with numerous fumaroles around the summit. The summit may be composed of either a lava dome or a pyroclastic cone, while the lower flanks of the volcano are covered by lava flows and lava domes. The volcano's eruptions have produced mostly dacite along with andesite and rhyolite.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tarso Voon". Global Volcanism Program . Smithsonian Institution.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 41.
  3. Jannsen 1970, p. 8.
  4. 1 2 3 Bryan, T. Scott (2018). The Geysers of Yellowstone, Fifth Edition. University Press of Colorado. ISBN   9781607328407.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 36.
  6. Jäkel et al. 1972, Fig.2-Fig.3.
  7. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 37.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Jäkel et al. 1972, Fig.2.
  9. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 40.
  10. 1 2 Jannsen 1970, p. 17.
  11. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 44.
  12. 1 2 Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 43.
  13. Jannsen 1970, p. 18.
  14. Jäkel et al. 1972, Fig.8.
  15. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 45.
  16. 1 2 Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 42.
  17. Jäkel et al. 1972, pp. 42–43.
  18. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 117.
  19. Jäkel et al. 1972, p. 35.

Sources