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A water rights compact and controlled-groundwater area was established by the National Park Service and the state of Montana to protect the "Known Geothermal Resources Areas" from development. The park's hydrothermal system needs the Yellowstone Volcano and water, such as groundwater from the surrounding mountains, to exist. Superheated water is formed when snow and rain percolate through layers of permeable rock, meeting hot brine directly heated by the shallow magma body, causing the water's temperature to rise above the boiling point. The natural "plumbing" system of the park's hydrothermal features involves convection currents that allow the lighter, superheated water to rise to the surface through cracks and weak areas in rhyolitic lava flows. Silica plays a crucial role in the park's "plumbing" system by precipitating in cracks, increasing the system's ability to withstand pressure, and forming siliceous sinter at the surface. The five main hydrothermal features of Yellowstone National Park are hot springs, geysers, mudpots, travertine terraces, and fumaroles. Yellowstone's boiling river works by an underlying body of magma releasing heat, using groundwater from surrounding mountains. The river is closed in spring and early summer due to its high temperatures. There have been around 52 deaths every 4,020,288 annual visitors, and an unknown number of injuries, due to the hydrothermal system. Some species of bacteria, such as Naegleria and Legionella, can live in the boiling river and may cause infections. Thermophiles are microscopic organisms that survive and thrive in extreme heat, creating colorful mats and streamers in hot springs. Extremophiles are microorganisms that live in extreme conditions, such as heat and acid, and cannot survive without these conditions. The revised tree of life combines animal, plant, and fungi in one branch, with two branches consisting solely of microorganisms, including Archaea. Hyperthermophiles thrive in water above 176°F, indicating life may have arisen in hot environments on the young Earth. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is a Peruvian biochemist who studies the microbes in the boiling river and the microbial and biochemical processes in plants used in Amazonian medicines.