Originally posted by Aslyfox note the discoloration, minerals from hot spring ??? type of rock ???
Some of the discoloration is caused by bacterial mats of types variously called "thermophiles" or even "extremophiles." The existence of organisms that can withstand, actually thrive under conditions that would kill humans has given hope to life-on-other-planets enthusiasts. However, it is unclear whether these organisms originated in these extreme conditions (=they represent survivors of the very earliest forms of life on Earth) or whether life originated in what we would regard as more equable habitats then some of them gradually adapted to the extreme conditions. Personally, I favor the latter.