National Inventory of Thermal Springs in Mexico: An integrated geospatial database for scientific research and sustainable tourism
Main Article Content
Abstract
Thermal springs are expressions of geothermal systems. They can provide information about structural geology, tectonic activity, hydrothermal circulation, and water-rock interaction. In Mexico, some thermal areas have been studied for electricity generation, but there are many areas less documented, despite their importance for direct-use applications, research, and sustainable tourism. Nature-based tourism (NBT) can promote economic development and community wellbeing while supporting biodiversity conservation. NBT should be encouraged in thermal spring areas with limited economic activity.
This study presents a national geospatial database of 1,881 thermal spring records in Mexico, compiled from scientific literature, institutional reports, geothermal projects, historical records, and geospatial datasets. The database integrates spatial, physical and territorial variables, including location, temperature, pH, source, accessibility, population proximity, and tourism-related infrastructure. A relative thermal criterion based on mean annual temperature was applied to identify thermal springs. The inventory provides a national-scale tool for geothermal exploration, sustainable ecotourism, territorial planning, and conservation.
This study presents a national geospatial database of 1,881 spring records in Mexico, compiled from scientific literature, institutional reports, geothermal projects, historical records, and geospatial datasets. The database integrates spatial, physical and territorial variables, including location, temperature, pH, source, accessibility, population proximity, and tourism-related infrastructure. A relative thermal criterion based on mean annual temperature was applied to identify thermal springs. The inventory provides a national-scale tool for geothermal exploration, sustainable ecotourism, territorial planning, and conservation.
Downloads
PLUMX Metrics
Dimensions Citation
Altmetric data
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Castillo-Reyes, O., Prol-Ledesma, R. M., Corbo-Camargo, F., and Rojas, O. (2024). Geothermal resources in Latin-America and their exploration using electromagnetic methods. Geothermal Energy, 12(1):34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40517-024-00314-5
Cuervo-Robayo, A. P., Téllez-Valdés, O., Gómez-Albores, M. A., Venegas-Barrera, C. S., Manjarrez, J., and Martínez-Meyer, E. (2015). Temperatura media anual en México (1910–2009), escala 1:1000000. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, México.
Ding, L. (2024). Tourist choice of sustainable hot springs tourism under post-COVID-19 pandemic period: A case in Colorado. International Journal of Tourism Research, 26(1):e2619. https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2619
Erfurt, P. J. (2011). An assessment of the role of natural hot and mineral springs in health, wellness and recreational tourism. PhD thesis, James Cook University.
Ferrari, L., Castillo-Reynoso, J. C., Orozco-Esquivel, T., and Silva-Fragoso, A. (2018). Digital geologic map and geochronologic, geochemical and geothermal database of the south-eastern part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. Terra Digitalis, 2(2):1–6. https://doi.org/10.22201/igg.25940694.2018.2.53
Flores-Espino, F., Booth, S., and Graves, A. (2017). Mexico's geothermal market assessment report. Technical report, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO. https://doi.org/10.2172/1349719
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (2025). Directorio estadístico nacional de unidades económicas. INEGI, México.
Luijendijk, E., Winter, T., Köhler, S., Ferguson, G., von Hagke, C., and Scibek, J. (2020). Using thermal springs to quantify deep groundwater flow and its thermal footprint in the Alps and a comparison with North American orogens. Geophysical Research Letters, 47(22):e2020GL090134. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090134
Martínez-Estrella, J. I., Torres, R. J., and Iglesias, E. R. (2005). A GIS-based information system for moderate- to low-temperature Mexican geothermal resources. In Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2005, Antalya, Turkey. 24–29 April 2005, paper 1725, 8 pp.
Medai, N., Okamoto, N., Ogasawara, Y., and Hihara, K. (2022). Factors contributing to tourism demand at major Japanese hot springs. PLOS ONE, 17(9):e0274681. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274681
Orozco-Uribe, L. C., Ortega-Guerrero, M. A., Cantoral-Uriza, E. A., Domínguez-Cortázar, M. Á., and Rodríguez-Gutiérrez, E. (2021). Cambio de las manifestaciones de agua subterránea y características de los ecosistemas asociados en el semiárido mexicano. Hidrobiológica, 31(1):1–15. https://doi.org/10.24275/uam/izt/dcbs/hidro/2021v31n1/Orozco
Palacios, A., Koon-Koon, R., Miranda-Flores, G., Lewis, S., Castro-Olivera, P. M., Cordova-Lizama, A., and Hernandez-Garcia, A. I. (2024). A Monte Carlo-based approach for the evaluation of Mexico's geothermal potential. Renewable Energy, 223:120006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120006
Pentecost, A., Jones, B., and Renaut, R. W. (2003). What is a hot spring? Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40(11):1443–1446. https://doi.org/10.1139/e03-083
Prol-Ledesma, R. M. (1988). El calor de la Tierra. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México.
Prol-Ledesma, R. M. (2025). Past, present and future of geothermal energy in Mexico. In 3rd EAGE Workshop on Geothermal Energy in Latin America, pages 1–5. EAGE Publications BV. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202586013
Tamburello, G., Chiodini, G., Ciotoli, G., Procesi, M., Rouwet, D., Sandri, L., Carbonara, N., and Masciantonio, C. (2022). Global thermal spring distribution and relationship to endogenous and exogenous factors. Nature Communications, 13(1):6378. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34115-w
Torres, R. J., Martínez-Estrella, J. I., and Iglesias, E. R. (2005). Database of Mexican medium- to low-temperature geothermal resources. In Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2005, Antalya, Turkey. 24–29 April 2005.
Torres-Rodríguez, V., Venegas-Salgado, S., Herrera-Franco, J. J., and González-Partida, E. (1993). Manifestaciones termales de la República Mexicana. In Torres-Rodríguez, V., editor, Geotermia en México, pages 31–78. Programa Universitario de Energía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México.
Waring, G. A., Blankenship, R. R., and Bentall, R. (1965). Thermal springs of the United States and other countries of the world; a summary. Professional Paper 492, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC. 383 pp. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp492
White, D. E. (1957). Thermal waters of volcanic origin. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 68(12):1637–1658. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1957)68[1637:TWOVO]2.0.CO;2