The construction of Hoover Dam has modified the natural groundwater flow pattern in the region below the dam. Natural fracture systems in the bedrock have become conduits for springs in side canyons along the river. This is an example of one of the falls below the dam. Many of the springs are warm or even scalding hot due to the high natural heat flow in this region. Temperatures in the springs area recorded in the range of 12 to 55 degrees C (54 to 131 degrees F). In contrast, the temperature of the Colorado River below Hoover Dam is a constant 11 degrees C (53 degrees F) year round. The water from the springs are a mix of water leaking through fault and fracture systems from the dam upstream with water from deeper, hotter sources in the vicinity (McCay and Zimmerman, 1983; Paces and Beard, 2008).

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