Hammam Meskhoutine
A petrified waterfall of colorful travertine, built by springs that flow at nearly 98 °C.
Place overview
Hammam Maskhoutine ("bath of the damned") is a group of hot springs in the municipality of Hammam Debagh, in Guelma Province, north-eastern Algeria. Ten springs rise in the same valley, with water reaching close to 98 °C, among the hottest in the world. Together they discharge some 1,650 litres per second, almost 100,000 litres every minute.
The water is saturated with calcium carbonate and iron. As it cools on its way down the slope it leaves these minerals behind, and over thousands of years it has built a petrified cascade of travertine streaked with white, ochre, orange and green. The valley is also dotted with conical limestone mounds that mark the spots where older springs once gushed out. The water is so hot that eggs can be boiled in the outflow channels.
The springs have been used since Roman times, when the town was known as Aquae Thiblitanae, and some of the Roman baths are still in use. The Arabic name comes from a local legend: a man who married his own sister was struck by lightning together with his whole wedding procession, and the cones and folds of rock are said to be the guests and their robes turned to stone. Today the site, also known as Hammam Chellala, is a popular spa resort.
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Gallery
View the source gallery here: Hammam Meskhoutine Wikimedia