A Hydrothermal Model of the Roosevelt Hot Springs Area, Utah, USA

Abstract

The hydrothermal system at Roosevelt Hot Springs Known Geothermal Resource Area (KGRA), located on the west side of the Mineral Mountains, Utah, is somewhat unusual in that it appears to be related to a young granitic intrusive and associated faults and fractures within a horst block. The shape and size of the heat source are based on gravity, seismic, and geological data while the details of the model of the circulation system are constrained by drilling information. The temporal evolution of the system seems to require continued intrusive activity after the latest dated surface flows (500 ka). The shallow part of the hydrothermal system appears to be controlled to some extent by the details of the permeability structure in the immediate vicinity if the high surface heat flow region.