Low-temperature geothermal resources may exist on Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge. Five hot springs occur in a belt from the Ray Mountains to Caribou Mountain; the closest being about 15 miles from the refuge. Surrounding them is 9,000-square mile area, including lands in the southwestern corner of the refuge, classified by the Alaska Division of Geologic and Geophysical Surveys as favorable for the discovery of shallow (less than 3,333 feet deep) thermal waters, too cold for generation of electricity, but hot enough for space heating, greenhouses, aquaculture and other direct heating. The springs are probably recirculating surface waters heated in deep fractures of the Hodzana Highlands granite. Of these, Kanuti Hot Springs, issuing from several vents below Caribou Mountain, has strong sulphuric odor, the hottest measured waters (150.8° F, 66° degrees C), and the highest dissolved solids (30 mg/l). The water is too hot for comfort. People who want to soak in the springs must move rocks to strategic locations in order to pool cooler water from a stream flowing into the hot spring.
