The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-14
AT THE UNIVERSITY.
LAST OF THE SERIES OF PUBLIC
LECTURES.
DR.. Talmage Speaks on Hot Springs
and Geysers, Illustrating His Re
marks With Stereopticon Views.

The last of the series of public lectures
at the university was delivered at the
university lecture hall last night by
! DR.. J. E. Talmage and was from the
of view of attendance and interest of the
discourse given one of the very success
! full ones of the course. The lecture was
on the subject: Hot Springs and
! Geysers'' and was illustrated by an ex-
tensive assortment of stereopticon views,
most of the pictures having been taken
by the lecturer in the course of a tour
through the Yellowstone park.
After explaining the principles under
lying the occurrence of springs in general,
the lecturer turned to the subject of
thermal springs. Springs having their
source beneath the stratum of inva,iable
temperature will not be influenced by
external changes of temperature. These
external influences operate at all times
summers heat may be felt at some
depth beneath the surface late in the
succeeding winter Springs having their
source within the layer thus slowly in
fiuenced would therefore receive the eff
feet of the summers heat long after the
summer had passed and thus the spring
may pour forth water which is actually
cool in summer and warm in winter when
compared with the temperature of the
air.
Like water from all other sources
spring water contains varying quantities
of mineral matters in solution. Accord
ing to their mineral contents springs
may be classified as calcium chaly-
beate. saline, alum and silicious waters:
and according to the gases contained they
may be SulOhur waters or carbonated
waters Water under pressure will take
up large quantities of carbon oxide, and
this solution of carbon diOxide is capa-
BILE of dissolving calcium carbonate. AS
waters thus charged come TO the sur
face they lose their carbon dioXide
through relief of pressure and immedi-
ately deposit calcium carbonate, building
fo- themselves curbS and often incrust-
ing objects immersed in the water. In
general heat is favorable to chemical ac-
ton and hot wafer is a stronger solvent
than is cold. The source of the heat
manifesting itself in thermal springs is
by many supposed, to be the, residual heat
of former volcanic action; by others me-
chanical movements of the crust, such
as block shifting are regarded as the
cause of this rise in temperature; and
by still others chemical action within
the interior of the earth is looked to as
the cause. 1t is known that lavas will
retain their heat for an indefinite period;
in the case of an eruption of Jorullo in
Mexico the lava was found still steaniing
81 years later. Steam vents in the neigh
borhood of volcanoes are generally known
as fumaroles; if sulphur gases are emit
ted with the water and steam, the name
solfatara is given. Lime depositing springs
bot. hot and cold abound in most coun-
tries. The springs at Midway in our own
state are excellent examples of these, and
of the SOlfataraT the hot springs near
The most magnificent deposits of traver-
tine resulting from thermal spring ac-
ton are found at the Mammoth Hot
Springs. Yellowstone National park In
deed. since the destruction of the New
Zealand pink terraces at Rotomahama,
the Mammoth Hot Springs deposits are
without a rival. These deposits of bril-
liantlv colored. Varigated travertine COW
e. an area of three square miles. of
which 10 acres are marked by existing
springs BY the aid of pictures Jupiter
terrace. Minerva terrace. Cleopatra ter
were illustrated. An interior view of the
pleted this part of the subject
GeyserS are not merely lot springs. but
periodically eruptive hot springs. True
in solution. BY deposition of part of this
silica the spring builds for itself a sinu-
Gus pipe in which convection currents
are INTERRUPTED and thus the lower part
of the tube tnay be at a very high tenn
perature whAe the water in the upper
part may be comparatively cool. Under
these conditions violent eruption will
occur BY the aid of model ten feet /
high the action of geysers through this /
Interruption of convection currents was
illustrated. All kinds of geysers are to |
be fourd IN the Yellowstone National
park and a great number were ex-
planned by pictures ranging from tiny |
cones less than a foot high throwing /
-ctcr but q few inches, to the magnifi- |
cent beehive which throws its water 200 /
feet high, and the giant $50 feet high.