Jocelyn Halverson, Rachel Adams, Janet Kaye, Val Solorzano
Our group tested the waters of three sources (lakes and hot springs) in Southeastern Oregon. Two of these were thermal sources. Our data was compared to measurements done professionally at Summer Lake Hot Springs southwest of our sites.
The pH of all the sources we tested were between 7.5 and 9.0, so all were alkaline. The oxygen content of Mickey Hot Springs was far greater, at 54 ppm, than that of the other two sources, but this may correlate to the higher temperature of Mickey Hot Springs (129 F compared to 59 and 80 F), and the fact that gas bubbles were seen in Mickey Hot Springs. Nitrates were low in all the waters, but since nitrates are commonly associated with fertilized agricultural land, this was not surprising.
The total and calcium hardness of the freshwater lake was greater than that of the thermal springs. The thermal waters generally contain salts, which soften water, but we did not have the capability to test for sodium, potassium, and/or chloride. In Summer Lake Hot Springs; the sodium level was 399 ppm; potassium, 6.8 ppm; and chloride, 285 ppm.
This is a region of volcanic activity and faulting. The water is geothermally heated in some areas from magma near the surface. The silica ash that is common in this area is easily dissolved in hot water. Had distilled water been available while testing, we could have done titrations for more specific measurements. It would have been interesting to discover if the silica content of the warmer waters was higher than that of the cooler waters. The actual silica content at Summer Lake Hot Springs, which was 114-118 degrees F., was 96 ppm. We were only able to state that the silica content of our sources was greater than 10 ppm.
Body of Water
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