[philmont] Soda Spring Dam

>At 3/14/2007 01:02 AM, you wrote:
>Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:06:01 EDT
>From: SBHSN@aol.com
>
>Soda Springs Dam is unique. The highway folks had to cut through the
>deposits to get the road through. The scouts will enjoy climbing
>all over it. I
>don't believe there is a soaking pool there, but spring water still flows.
>
>There are some nearby springs that are good for soaking, but these are
>clothing optional and open to the public, so swimming in these would
>probably be a
>violation of youth protection policy.
>
>Steve Hanson
>Chaplain, Troop 10

Soda Spring Dam

I Googled it and found this very cool site
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/treiman/greatdesert/workshop/sodadam1/
There are 2 pages with some neat pictures and a geological explanation.

Some directions:
To get to Soda Dam, drive up I-25 to NM 44, which angles northwest
from Exit 242: At San Ysidro, 23 miles up NM 44, turn right onto NM 4
and follow that road for about 19 miles. You'll see Soda Dam looming
up on the right.

Location: Take I-25 to NM 44. At San Ysidro, take NM 4 for about 19
miles. Soda Dam is on the right. For more information, contact the
Jemez Ranger District at 829-3535. Hours: During daylight hours.
Cost: Free Features: A waterfall, natural pool and hot springs.

And this page

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/recreation/districts/jemez/poi/sodadam.html

Description

Soda Dam is a unique geologic feature formed due to both the presence
of a geo-thermal system and to deep seated faulting in the area. A
very deep fault at Soda Dam (roughly perpendicular to the highway)
serves as a conduit to bring water to the surface. Because of deep
faults in the area, surface waters are able to penetrate deep enough
to be heated by the earth itself, which is in turn heated by the
molten rock underlying the area.
When heated and pressurized (due to enormous weight of rock materials
above) water is able to carry gases and minerals in a dissolved form,
but once reaching the surface, just like "hard water deposits" in a
home faucet.
At Soda Dam, the colorful veil and flowing appearance reflect the
cumulative deposits of thousands of years of minerals, dissolved from
rocks deep under the earth, and brought to the surface by the hot
springs rising along the fault. The mineral Calcium Carbonate, or
Travertine makes up the bulk of the deposit. Minor amounts of other
minerals or elements cause the different colors in the formation. The
bubbles that can be seen rising in the spring waters of Soda Dam are
gases dissolved in the water at depth, which on reaching the surface
are released into the atmosphere, similar to bubbles in a carbonated
drink are released from a bottle or can when opened.
Soda Dam forms a natural dam to the Jemez River, which cuts through
it to continue its course. The unique formation shows the continuous
processes of nature both building and destroying the feature at the same time.

And this one from Trails.com
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail.asp?trailid=XFA024-027

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lorie McGraw <lmcgraw@sc.rr.com>
Columbia, SC
BSA Troop 91 www.troop91bsa.org

   ^, ,^ "I used to be a Fox..." SR330-00
     \/

"Lord, please help me to be patient ... Now would be good."

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Received on Wed Mar 14 15:58:15 2007