Tashkumyr Thermal Springs

Tashkumyr Thermal Springs are located on the eastern outskirts of the city of Tashkumyr, on the cliff of the right bank of the Naryn River at the latitude of the "Severny" mine, a few meters above the river at an absolute elevation of just over 600 m. Here, for a hundred meters, one can observe about half a dozen jets of warm and hot water (in June 1978, geologist S. G. Shulgin recorded a temperature of 45°C in one of the springs). Its composition is consistently sodium sulfate with an increased content of chlorides and alkaline earth cations, while the mineralization varies from point to point of sampling from 3.9 to 5.2 g/l and does not depend on temperature in general. A similar thermal anomaly is found in the Tashkumyr area of the Yangantau Mountain (Bashkortostan).

An important role in maintaining the regime that generates heat here is played by the openness of the cracks for air circulation, the terrain, the prevailing wind direction, and other factors. Unfortunately, the study of the reasons for their formation in the Tashkumyr thermal springs is very weak. It is possible that the conditions for oxidation are favored by the circulation of water and air through old workings — the thermal outlets are located next to pre-revolutionary adits; it is also possible that the oxidation of pyrite, which is constantly present in the coal-bearing Jurassic deposits, plays a significant role in the formation of the thermal composition, leading to the accumulation of sulfates in the water.

Currently, the thermal springs near Tashkumyr are rarely used for medical unsupervised therapeutic and hygienic bathing, while the possibilities for their other uses completely depend on clarifying the conditions of formation, circulation pathways, flow rate, composition, and temperature.