GOVE    CREEK    SULPHUR    BEDS,    UTAH.  489 
Analysis  of  water  from  <  'ove  ( 'reek  sulphur  beds. 
[Parts  per  million.] 
Dissolved  solids  at  180° 8,816 
Dissolved  solids  at  130° 10,  810 
Suspended  matter -. 52 
Silica  (Si02) [24 
Ferrous  oxide  ( FeO ; 560 
Ferric  oxide  (  Fe203 ) 802 
Aluminum  (Al) 0 
Calcium  (Ca) 158 
Magnesium  (Mg ) 232 
Sodium  (Na)  1 
Potassium  ( K )/ [44 
Carbonate  radicle  (C03) 0 
Bicarbonate  radicle  ( HC03) 0 
Sulphate  radicle  (S04) 7,  002 
Free  sulphuric  acid  (H2S04) 4,  523 
Chlorine  (CI ) 79 
Nitrate  radicle  (N03) 1.7 
Free  sulphur  i  S) 3.  G 
Note. — Constant-  loss  of  dissolved  solids  occurs  when  heated  above  130°.  Heated 
at  180°  not  constant.  Sample  had  free  hydrogen  sulphide  (H2S)  when  collected, 
with  possible  presence  of  sulphur  dioxide  (S02). 
The  veins  filled  with  yellow  sulphur  and  the  cavities  lined  with 
crystals  or  flowers  or  sulphur  might  be  interpreted  as  indicating  that 
the  sulphur  came  up  in  melted  or  vaporized  condition.  The  quan- 
tity occurring  in  this  way,  however,  is  very  small  compared  with 
that  contained  in  the  tuff,  and  may  be  due  to  some  secondary  action. 
CONCLUSION. 
The  facts  and  inferences  regarding  the  occurrence  and  origin  of 
the  Cove  Creek  sulphur  deposits  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 
There  are  valuable  deposits  of  sulphur  not  only  at  Sulphurdale, 
where  it  is  being  extracted,  but  at  several  other  localities  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  The  Cove  Creek  sulphur  beds  have  supplied  the  local 
market  for  about  thirty  years,  their  average  annual  output  being  esti- 
mated at  1,000  tons.  The  sulphur  is  probably  the  result  of  volcanic 
action,  as  is  shown  by  its  presence  in  a  volcanic  region  where  recent 
eruptions  have  occurred.  It  is  presumably  derived  from  hydrogen 
sulphide,  which  is  still  escaping  in  large  quantities,  and  its  concentra- 
tion in  the  beds  of  rhyolitic  tuff  is  probably  due  to  the  general  dis- 
semination of  the  gas  through  the  porous  material  near  the  surface, 
where  it  comes  in  contact  with  oxygen  which  unites  with  the  hydrogen 
to  form  water,  leaving  the  sulphur  as  a  cementing  substance  in  the 
loose  material.  The  process  of  formation  and  concentration  is  appar- 
ently active  at  the  present  time. 
