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Hot Springs of Iceland

"About a mile further down, at the foot of the valley, is the Tungahver, an assemblage of springs the most extraordinary, perhaps, in the whole world. A rock (waoke?) rises from the bog, about twenty feet, and is about fifty yards in length, the breadth not being considerable. This seems formerly to have been a hillock, one side of which remains covered with grass, while the other has been worn away, or perhaps destroyed at the time when the hot water burst forth. Along the face of the rock are arranged no fewer than sixteen springs, all of them boiling furiously, and some of them throwing the water to a considerable height. One of them, however, deserves particular notice. On approaching this place, we observed a high jet of water near one extremity of the rock. Suddenly this jet disappeared, and another, thicker but not so high, rose within a very short distance of it. At first we supposed that a piece of the rock had given way, and that the water had at that moment found a more convenient passage. Having left our horses, we went directly to the place where this had apparently happened; but we had scarcely reached the spot, when this new jet disappeared, and the one we had seen before was renewed. We observed that there were two irregular holes in the rock, within a yard of each other; and while from one a jet proceeded to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, the other was full of boiling water. We had scarcely made this observation, when the first jet began to subside, and the water in the other hole to rise; and as soon as the first had entirely sunk down, the other attained its greatest height, which was about five feet. In this extraordinary manner, these two jets played alternately. The smallest and highest jet continued about four minutes and a half, and the other about three minutes. We remained admiring this very remarkable phenomenon for a considerable time, during which we saw many alternations of the jets, which happened regularly at the intervals already mentioned. "I have taken the liberty to give a name to this spring, and to call it 'The Alternating Geyser.' "These springs have been formerly observed, though the singularity of the alternations does not seem to have been attended to as any thing remarkable. Olafson and Paulson mention, that the jets appear and disappear successively, in the second, third, and fourth openings. We observed no cessations in any of the springs, except in the two under consideration. "To form a theory of this regular alternation is no easy matter; and it seems to require a kind of mechanism very different from the simple apparatus usually employed by nature in ordinary intermittent or spouting springs. The prime mover in this case is evidently steam, an agent sufficiently powerful for the phenomena. The two orifices are manifestly connected; for, as the one jet sinks towards the surface, the other rises, and this in a regular and uniform manner. observed once, that when one of the jets was sinking, and the other beginning to rise, the first rose again a little before it was quite sunk down, and then when this happened, the other ceased to make any efforts to rise, and returned to its former state, till the first again sunk, when the second rose and played as usual. This communication must be formed in such a manner, that it is never complete, but alternately interrupted, first on one side, and then on the other. To effect this without the intervention of valves, seems to be impossible; and yet it is difficult to conceive the natural formation of a set of permanent valves: so that this fountain becomes one of the greatest curiosities ever presented by nature, even though, in attempting to explain the appearances it exhibits, we take every advantage that machinery can give us. If it is occasioned by natural valves, these must be of very durable materials, in order to withstand the continual agitation and consequent attrition." We next proceed to a description of the HOT SPRINGS OF OUACHITTA, (WASHITAW.)---These springs, which have been known for many years, are situated on a stream called Hot Spring Creek, which falls into the Washitaw River, eight miles below. They lie fifty miles south of the Arkansa River, in Clark county, territory of Arkansa, (lately Missouri,) and six miles west of the road from Cadron to Mount Prairie, on Red River.

The approach to the springs lies up the valley of the creek. On the right of the valley rises the hot mountain, with the springs issuing at its foot; on the left, the cold mountain, which is little more than a confused and mighty pile of stones. The hot mountain is about 300 feet high, rising quite steep, and presenting occasionally ledges of rocks; it terminates above in a confused mass of broken rocks. The steep and otherwise sterile sides are covered with a luxuriant growth of vines. The valley between this and the cold mountain is about fifty yards wide.

The springs issue at the foot of the hot mountain, at an elevation of about ten feet above the level of the creek; they are very numerous all along the hill-side, and the water, which runs in copious streams, is quite hot; it will scald the hand, and boil an egg hard in ten minutes. Its temperature is considered that of boiling water, but Dr. Andrews, of Red River, thinks it is not above 200° Fahr. There is a solitary spring, situated seventy feet higher than the others on the side of the mountain, but it is of an equal temperature, and differs in no