we all know that water shoots up out of geysers and hot springs are hot water from below the surface of the earth, but how does this work....is it like the cycle above the earth with the way water moves into the air and falls like rain?

-- nicolas mazzeo (mazzcreek39@aol.com), April 30, 2001

Answers

yes, the cycle under the surface of the earth, via. water, is jsut like the way water moves throughout the atmosphere,but it is the opposite........the cold water sinks into the earth and permeates through the rocks, as it nears the magma in the earth it heats up. The hot water then rises and forms hot springs and geysers. the reason geysers explode and hot springs don't is that the route the water takes in the hot springs is more direct, and in the geysers the route the water takes to the surface is more scattered....so when the water boils going up to the geyser is gets stuck and then when it boils it explodes......the water in a hot spring can reach the surface and boil there.

-- george welch (gwelch@oswego.edu), April 30, 2001.