hot springalso called thermal springspring with water at temperatures substantially higher than the air temperature of the surrounding region. Most hot springs discharge groundwater that is heated by shallow intrusions of magma (molten rock) in volcanic areas. Some thermal springs, however, are not related to volcanic activity. In such cases, the water is heated by convective circulation: groundwater percolating downward reaches depths of a kilometre or more where the temperature of rocks is high because of the normal temperature gradient of the Earth’s crust—about 30 °C (54 °F) per kilometre in the first 10 km (6 miles).

Many of the colours in hot springs are caused by thermophilic (heat-loving) microorganisms. The , which include certain types of bacteria, such as cyanobacteria, one of the more common of these groups, and species of archaea and algae. Many thermophilic organisms grow in huge colonies called bacterial mats that form the colourful scums and slimes on the sides of hot springs. Various colours of cyanobacteria prefer specific conditions of water chemistry and temperature, thus providing a rough “thermometer” for hot springs: yellow, about 70 °C (160 °F); brown, about 60 °C (140 °F); and green, about 50 °C (120 °F) or lowerThe microorganisms that grow in hot springs derive their energy from various chemicals and metals; potential energy sources include molecular hydrogen, dissolved sulfides, methane, iron, ammonia, and arsenic. In addition to geochemistry, the temperature and pH of hot springs play a central role in determining which organisms inhabit them.

Examples of thermophilic microorganisms found in hot springs include bacteria in the genera Sulfolobus, which can grow at temperatures of up to 90 °C (194 °F), Hydrogenobacter, which grow optimally at temperatures of 85 °C (185 °F), and Thermocrinis, which grow optimally at temperatures of 80 °C (176 °F). Thermophilic algae in hot springs are most abundant at temperatures of 55 °C (131 °F) or below.

