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Scalding Hot Water from the Earth

A visit to Hot Creek near Mammoth Lakes, California

As soon as Mammoth Creek - fed by snowmelt from Twin Lakes - in California flows under the US-395 its name changes to Hot Creek, joins Owens River and flows into Crowley Lake. The Hot Creek Geological Site is located a few miles north of the Mammoth Yosemite Airport. An unpaved roads lead to this spot with near-boiling water coming out of the earth.

Hot Creek near Mammoth Lakes, California with Glass Mountain in the background

This site is located within the Long Valley Caldera which was formed 760,000 years ago by a giant volcanic explosion and followed by (lesser violent) volcanic eruptions, the last one a few hundred years ago.

The thermal springs in Hot Creek are fed by Sierra Nevada snowmelt that seeps underground and flows eastward, reaching temperatures as high as 428°F (220°C) in the vicinity of magma beneath the caldera. As the water moves towards the springs at Hot Creek the temperature at which water emerges can be close to boiling.

View towards the Eastern Sierra range above Hot Creek

People used to bathe in the warm/hot waters (including myself a long time ago), but the water temperature over time changed a lot and at times got so hot that people were getting scalded and swimming was prohibited since 2006. You can still walk the area, but some areas are also fenced off because of sudden geyser activity.

The second time we (my wife, brother-in-law, daughter and two dogs) visited in December of 2023 I also brought my drone to create some videos and photos that obviously cannot be acquired with my hand-held camera.

While we were walking down into the canyon you could already see water and gas bubbling up from a spot in the middle of the creek and water vapor rising from natural pools flanking the creek. These pools contain beautiful blue water that is caused by dissolved minerals in the water, the lining of minerals in the pool walls and the high temperatures as most bacteria and algae cannot live here (which normally gives a greener tint to water).

Bubbling water in Hot Creek

When we got down to creek level, my family went for a walk along the creek and I took out Rolf, a DJI Mavic 3. In this area, you can fly up to 100 feet above ground level with LAANC approval. First I wanted to get a closer look of the bubbling water (most likely carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide) and the pools just on the other side of the creek.

A closer look at the spot with bubbles in the middle of Hot Creek

The hot spring pools on the other side of the creek

These pools were used in the 1930’s for bathing, but increased to boiling temperatures in the 1980’s. A fence can still be seen that now runs through a newly created pool that didn’t exist when the fence was built.

A closer look at the steaming hot spring pools with the old fence in the bottom left corner

I flew my drone over the creek and recorded some footage. A bit to the east I noticed that the creek was a lot wider and beautiful green water plants were performing a gracious dance.

Whirling green water plants in Hot Creek

I took a lot of photographs looking east and west and stitched together several stacked photos to create some portrait-oriented compositions. 

The view above the creek water plants towards Glass Mountain in the north east

I flew back to the pools and acquired photographs from as many angles as I could with the thought in mind to create a 3D model of this area.

The three dimensional model of the Hot Creek hot springs rendered in Blender

I'm not exactly sure yet what to do with the model, but most likely I'll 3D print it and cast it in resin.

I rejoined my family when they returned from their walk, and wrapped up another great day in this beautiful part of California.