St Lucia Sulphur Springs

The main area of the sulphur springs comprises numerous hot springs, bubbling mud pools and fumaroles (steam vents). The strongly hydrothermally altered clay-rich rocks covers approximately 200 m x 100 m in size. Many of those boiling pools have temperatures 100°C or hotter. Temperatures of up to 172°C have been recorded.

The springs are part of a large 3.5 X 5 km wide caldera called Qualibou. this is the Soufriere Volcanic Centre which formed approximately 32-39,000 years ago.

St. Lucia’s famous volcanic peaks, the Pitons, are two large lava domes that formed much earlier, about 200-300,000 years ago. They are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The last eruption of the st lucia volcano was in 1766. This eruption was a steam-blast eruption, which occurs when magma heats ground or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam. The result is an explosion of steam, water, ash, rock, and volcanic bombs. Occasionally, the island experiences shallow depth volcanic earthquakes near the st lucia sulphur springs.

Several studies have been carried out over the past 50 years to investigate the geothermal energy potential of Sulphur Springs. To date, however, no attempt at exploitation has been made.

The healing properties of the mineral water are known to detoxify the body and help heal mosquito bites, sun burns, eczema, arthritis, sore joints, and more.

Read more about about the geology of soufriere