Alkali Flat Hot Springs - Hot Springs in Nevada

A mining town that was booming during the gold rush.

There was a hot spring resort that was struck down in the neighborhood.

Goldfield, Nevada

I was surprised to see the ruins of a magnificent hotel appear in a wilderness that seemed to be at the end of the horizon.

Jasperdo - Goldfield, Nevada (2013)
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

A ghost town with fewer than 300 residents, Goldfield was once the largest city in Nevada with a population of 20,000.

It was one of the centers of the gold rush, producing as much as 30% of the United States gold in 1904.

The end of the boom due to the drop in the price of gold and the damage caused by the great fire cast the town down.

Ruins of a hot spring resort

A 10-minute drive on the paved road from Goldfield, I found livestock herded to the water's edge.

A lake seems to appear in this area only during the rainy season.

Following the flow path, a large pool appeared.

At the height of Goldfield, a hot spring resort existed in this area.

The ruins of the substation were the landmark.

The sources and tubs were located at the bottom of the hill where the substation was located.

There were two tubs.

There were two tubs.

One was a circular brick structure, the other an oval mortar structure.

Looking at the color of the ground surface, the hill itself seemed to be a huge precipitation made of hot spring ingredients.

The two-person sized brick tub was fed by water that looked slightly green.

There were two water outlets, a pipe in the front and a hose in the back.

Water was poured from the pipe at 118 degrees F and from the hose at 122 degrees F and mixed in the tub.

The tub was kept at a perfect temperature of 109 degrees F.

Capybara

This drain is well done.

That much?

Alpaca

I enjoyed the water, which has a metallic smell and contains lithium.

It feels so good!

The other mortar tub was of more primitive construction.

Water via the hose used for the brick tub was flowing through the ground directly into the mortar tub.

The drainage was just dripping off the rim, so there was a lot of algae and sediment.

Summary