Description
An assessment of geothermal resources of Cañon City area, Fremont County, includes geology, hydrogeology, geophysics, and geochemical resource assessment results. 81 pages. 33 figures. 11 tables. 10 appendices. Digital PDF download. RS-20D
The study area is east of Cañon City, bounded by the mountains on the north and west, the Arkansas River on the south and Colorado Highway 115 on the east. It contains a number of thermal springs and wells in two distinct groups. The eastern group consists of five thermal artesian wells located within one mile of Colorado Highway 115 from Penrose on the north to the Arkansas River on the south. The western group, located in and adjacent to Cañon City, consists of one thermal spring on the south bank of the Arkansas River on the west side of Cañon City, a thermal well in the northeast corner of the town, another well along the banks of Four Mile Creek, east of town, and a well north of town on Four Mile Creek.
All of the thermal waters are found within the Cañon City Embayment as is the entire study area. The thermal waters — unlike the cold ground waters of the Canon City Embayment — are a calcium-bicarbonate type and range in temperature from 79 to 108°F (26 to 42°C). The total combined surface discharge of all the thermal water in the study area is in excess of 532 acre feet (A.F.) per year. Examination of geological and hydrogeological data suggests that the origin of the thermal waters is due to a combination of favorable geological conditions plus decay of radioactive minerals. The thermal ground waters of the study area contain large amounts of radioactive mineral deposits. Water quality data from these springs is included in the report appendix, along with an evaluation of soil mercury concentrations used to delineate faults or permeable zones.
