Sulphur Springs Mountain (or Sulfur Springs Mountain) is a mountain in southwestern

Solano County, California Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

. The slopes can be accessed via hiking

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

s emanating from Blue Rock Springs Park in the city of Vallejo.

Cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and ...

deposits were extracted from this location in the early 1900s at

Hastings Mine The Hastings Mine is a mineral extraction site approximately northeast of the city of Vallejo, Solano County, California. The Hastings site on Sulfur Springs Mountain was used for extraction of cinnabar until the year 1930. The Hastings Mine is ...

and St. John's Mine.C. Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau, Andrew Kratter et al., ''Environmental Assessment of the Columbus Parkway Widening between Ascot Parkway and the Northgate Development, Vallejo'', Earth Metrics Inc. Report 7853, California State Clearinghouse, Sept, 1989 Both mines are classified as medium priority mine from the standpoint of environmental oversight for California inactive mines. The highest peak on Sulfur Springs Mountain stands at an elevation of , and affords expansive views of the northern

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

as well as the

Napa River The Napa River is a river approximately long in the U.S. state of California. It drains a famous wine-growing region called the Napa Valley, in the mountains north of the San Francisco Bay. Milliken Creek and Mt. Veeder watersheds are a few ...

. The rock

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...

pings which occur in the Sulphur Springs area are composed of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

; however, there are also serpentine outcrops, which soils are known to provide habitat for many rare and

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

Hydrology

The Earth Metrics research found that in excess of 100,000 gallons per day was produced by the principal sulfur spring on this mountain as recently as 1927; by the 1940s this flow was all but attenuated, due to extensive mine shaft construction. Streams that drain the mountain slopes include

Rindler Creek Rindler Creek is a stream that rises on Sulfur Springs Mountain in southwestern Solano County, California. A stream restoration project has been conducted to reverse the damage of cattle overgrazing. One goal of this project is to enhance habita ...

and

Blue Rock Springs Creek Blue Rock Springs Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10, 2011 stream that rises on Sulfur Springs Mountain in southwestern Solano County, California. A bicy ...

. Blue Rock Springs Creek has been tested for the

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...

diazinon Diazinon (IUPAC name: ''O'',''O''-Diethyl ''O''- -methyl-6-(propan-2-yl)pyrimidin-2-ylphosphorothioate, INN - Dimpylate), a colorless to dark brown liquid, is a thiophosphoric acid ester developed in 1952 by Ciba-Geigy, a Swiss chemical company ( ...

and found to have attained an elevated value of 40.9 micrograms per liter (Diazinon is a toxic pesticide associated with

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

maintenance). Prior hydrology modeling has been performed using the HEC-2 formalism to analyze flows in both Rindler Creek and Blue Rock Springs Creek; these studies were conducted to evaluate flooding potential and in order to conduct certain channel alterations associated with urban development on the lower slopes of Sulfur Springs Mountain. The Hastings Mine is classified as a medium priority mine from the standpoint of environmental oversight. In the last inspection of the Hastings Mine in 1997,

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

s in a drainage below the mine were found to contain ten parts per million of

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

; furthermore,

spring water A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

below the mine exhibited a water concentration of .31 micrograms per liter (a violation of the State of California standard for

receiving waters Receiving may refer to: * ''Kabbalah'', "receiving" in Hebrew * Receiving department (or receiving dock), in a distribution center * Receiving house, a theater * Receiving line, in a wedding reception * Receiving mark, postmark * Receiving par ...

of .05 micrograms per liter). Miles of underground shafts were driven in the course of working the quicksilver deposits in the area.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Access to Sulfur Springs Mountain via Blue Rock Springs Park
Mountains of Solano County, California Mountains of the San Francisco Bay Area Mountains of Northern California

Hydrology

See also

References

External links