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Mud pot


Fountain Paint Pots, Yellowstone National Park

A mud pot is a hot spring that takes the form of a viscous, often bubbling, slurry. Mud pots form in geothermal areas when hot water rises to the surface at a spot where the soil is rich in volcanic ash, clay and other fine particulates.

Mud pots are sometimes called paint pots, when the slurry is particularly colorful.