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All the United States California Calipatria Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field

Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

Calipatria, California

Added By
Hope Tracey
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The Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
A mudpot.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
The Davis-Schrimpf Field is just off the Salton Sea.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
The Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
A mud pot in the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
An alien landscape.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
Mud volcanoes in the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
A mudpot in the desert.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
Mud volcanoes in the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
The Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
Mud!   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
Closed area   TheDarkTourist / Atlas Obscura User
Mud volcano.   Hope / Atlas Obscura User
  Avoiding Regret
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About

Within a mere two square miles of the desert outside the Salton Sea there are enough gryphons, gas vents, salses, and mudpots to delight any geological oddity enthusiast.

At the Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field, geothermal mudpots announce themselves by belching gray bubbles from short sludge volcanoes. The bubbling seep fields are caused by the buildup of carbon dioxide beneath the surface of the earth, which pushes to the surface through the water table and sediment. As such, these aren't true volcanoes. They aren't boiling hot, merely warm. They can be quite stinky though, and gas bursts can range from a quiet "blurp" to a noisy eruption.

The salt content of Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field mud is so high that when it dries on the ground it forms a white crystalline top layer. When visitors walk across its surface it crunches like hard snow.

A virtual-reality exploration of the site may be seen here.

Related Tags

Mud Volcanoes Geological Oddities Geology Volcanoes Salton Sea Salt

Know Before You Go

There are multiple "No Trespassing" signs posted around the private property, which is owned by River Ranch, Inc. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Hope

Edited By

Howard Goldbaum, TheDarkTourist, Molly McBride Jacobson, kryztyne...

  • Howard Goldbaum
  • TheDarkTourist
  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • kryztyne
  • Avoiding Regret

Published

January 25, 2017

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Sources
  • http://wikitravel.org/en/Niland#See
  • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_volcano
  • http://www.livescience.com/29961-california-mud-volcanoes.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudpot
  • https://casetext.com/case/ritchie-v-river-ranch-inc
Davis-Schrimpf Seep Field
7598 Davis Rd
Calipatria, California
United States
33.204023, -115.578909
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