What Is the Difference Between Geysers, Fumaroles, Mudpots, and Hot Springs?

Geysers are bursts of boiling hot water that erupt from below the surface into the air, often several hundred feet.

A fumarole is a steam vent.

The steam comes from hot springs below the Earth’s surface that are so hot that their water boils away before they reach the surface.

A mudpot looks like it sounds, a hot, bubbling mound of clay and sand mixed with a little water.

It smells like rotten eggs because it contains sulfuric acid.

Hot springs occur when water below the Earth’s surface passes across hot rocks in areas of recent , geologically speaking, volcanic activity and then flows to the surface of the Earth.