Hot Springs in the Malay Peninsula

More than sixty hot springs have been discovered so far in
the Malay Peninsula and all of the hot springs are
genetically related to tectonic activities. Most of the sources
are located along the western flank of the Main Range
Granite Batholith and concentrated along major fault zones.
A few hot springs however, are located within sedimentary
rocks which are in close contact with the granite batholith
or along the granite-sedimentary rock contact.
The temperatures of the hot springs are less than 100oC at
surface. The flow rates of most hot springs ranged from 2 to
6 litres/second, except for the one at Tambun (Perak) which
has a flow rate of about 20 litres/second,. The hot springs
are mostly located at low elevations ranging from 3 meters
to 200 meters above sea level in a variety of geographic
environments such as along stream beds or emerging such
as along cracks in bedrock surfaces or in swampy areas.
Chemical analysis of water from these hot springs showed
that about 84% of the samples have high concentrations of
F, and Na exceeding the permissible International Standards
for drinking water. Samples from a few sites also have high
concentrations of As. Seventeen sites emit a faint to strong
H2S odour. Only two of these hot springs meet all the
requirements for drinking and mineral water
A large number of these hot springs, especially those that
are easily accessible and in the vicinity of urban centers are
turned into recreational resorts with hotels, hot spas, and
swimming pools. None of these hot springs has been
utilized for use as a source of geothermal energy and more
investigations need to be carried out