The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-03-30
Nevada GeyserS.

TIE recent remarkable discoveries of
ores and minerals of various kinds MADE
in the neighborhOOd of Steamboat Springs
aye causing a considerable amount Of
speculation in regard to what may under
lie that region at no very great depth
Some who have been Illuminating on the
matter are Of the opinion that under a
crust Of POO or 300 feet in thickness there
exists a large lake of boiling water, while
others believe that at about the same
depth below the surface all is fire and red
hot and molten rocks. Those who adj
vance the first mentioned theory say that
the minerals contained in the water of the
boiling lake first formed d crust around
the shores, and that this grew as ice
grows upon a pond in winter till the CON
cretiOns covered the whole of the water,
except spout holes here and there.
Through these spout holes steam and wa
ter were forced up, and thus thickness was
gradually added to the crust covering the
subterranean lake. They think that this
lake may extend under the greater part Of
the TruCkee meadows, as some years ago,
on the occasion of severe earthquake,
all the land, both in Steamboat Valley
and Truckee Meadows was rolled and
tossed like the waves of the ocean.
Those who believe that there is fire
somewhere far down in the bowels of the
earth say that beds of iron pyrites are nee
essary to produce, by their decomposition,
the combustion, and all below must be
solid, or at least, that there is no body of
hot water of such extent that it could be
called a lake They also say that there
can be no lake, because in certain places
there rush up strong blasts, or columns,
of hot, dry air, or gases, which must come
from a point where there is fire, or, at
least great heat, but no water, as no
steam is mingled with the gases.
In places mile or two to the westward
of the present springs, where men are
now engaged prospecting for sulphur, it
is found that at the depth of three or four
feet the rock is quite hot, and the sulphur
in some of the beds is so hot, when first
opened upon, that it cannot be held in the
hand. This great heat at a point so far
from the present active springs is what
has given the miners the idea that a lake
of boiling water underlies the whole re-
gion.
An experiment that many would like to
see tried would be the boring of a hole
somewhere in the neighbOrhood of the
present active springs. The rock is
somewhat like lava, and would be pene
trated very rapidly with diamond drill
or even with ordinary steel boring appa-
ratus.
We are of the opinion that depth of
200 feet would not be attained before an
underground tissure or chamber would
be tapped that would throw a stream of
water to the height of from 100 to 200
feet, either constantly or at regular inter
walls. The present proprietor could in no
way so cheaply add to the several attrac-
tiens of the place as by starting a bore
there, not for oil, but for-well, that
"DlCu ID SupDpoSu w pC Hot ldl away lloih
that place.
1t is sure thing that hole bored into
the red hot bowels of Steamboat Springs
would develop something worth seeing,
and we hope the proprietor will prospect
the lower levels of his property during the
coming summer.
Deep in the earth there is pent up at
that place an immense force. In the
spring of 1860 there was sort of well TO-
ward the north end of the range of springs
that sent a column of water three feet in
diameter to the height of at least sixty feet
at intervals of about eight hours. This
finally became clogged up, and in 1862
stream Of hot water about three inches in
diameter was thrown to the height Of
about 100 feet at intervals of half an hour.
The hole from which this stream was
thrown soon became clogged up, and
since then we have had no extraordinary
spouting of water at the springs, but an
artesian bore would doubtless start new
Virginia City (Nec.) Enterprise