Hotspot Project: The Snake River Geothermal Drilling Project Initial Report

The Snake River volcanic province (SRP) overlies a thermal anomaly that extends deep into the mantle; it represents one of the highest heat flow provinces in North America. The primary goal of this project is to evaluate geothermal potential in three distinct settings: (1) Kimama site: inferred high sub-aquifer geothermal gradient associated with the intrusion of mafic magmas, (2) Kimberly site: a valley-margin setting where surface heat flow may be driven by the up-flow of hot fluids along buried caldera ring-fault complexes, and (3) Mountain Home site: a more traditional fault-bounded basin with thick sedimentary cover. In-depth studies continue at all three sites, complemented by high-resolution gravity, magnetic, and seismic surveys, and by downhole geophysical logging.