Hot Spring
A Thermal hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are hot springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas.
The mineral water issuing from a hot spring is heated by geothermal heat, i.e., heat from the Earth's interior. In general, the temperature of rocks within the earth increases with depth. The rate of temperature increase with depth is known as the geothermal gradient. If water percolates deeply enough into the crust, it will be heated as it comes into contact with hot rocks. The water from hot springs in non-volcanic areas is heated in this manner.
Hot springs range in flow rate from the tiniest "seeps" to veritable rivers of hot water. Sometimes there is enough pressure that the water shoots upward in a geyser, or fountain.
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