Everything about Hot Springs National Park totally explained
Established from Hot Springs Reservation,
Hot Springs National Park is a
United States National Park in central
Arkansas adjacent to the city of
Hot Springs.
Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the
United States Congress on
April 20,
1832, and the area was made a national park on
March 4,
1921. It is by far the smallest national park by area in the United States.
The hot springs flow from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain, part of the
Ouachita Mountain range. In the park, the hot springs have not been preserved in their unaltered state as natural surface phenomena. They have instead been managed to conserve the production of uncontaminated hot water for public use. The mountains within the park are also managed within this conservation philosophy in order to preserve the hydrological system that feeds the springs.
People have used the hot spring water in therapeutic baths for more than two hundred years to treat
rheumatism and other ailments. While it was a reservation, the area developed into a well-known resort nicknamed "The American Spa" which attracted not only the wealthy but indigent health seekers from around the world as well.
The park includes portions of downtown Hot Springs, making it one of the most easily visited national parks. There are numerous hiking trails and camping areas. Bathing in spring water is available in approved facilities at extra cost. The entire "
Bathhouse Row" area is a
National Historic Landmark District that contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in
North America, including many outstanding examples of
Gilded Age architecture. The row's Fordyce Bathhouse serves as the park's visitor center; the Buckstaff is currently the sole bathhouse operating in its original capacity. Other buildings of the row are currently in various states of interior restoration.
The park has become increasingly popular in recent years, and recorded over 1.5 million visitors in 2003, as well as nearly 2.5 non-recreational visitors.
Discovery & Protection
Spanish explorer
Hernando DeSoto was the first European to see what
Native Americans referred to as the Valley of the Vapors when he and his men reached the area in 1541. Members of many Native American tribes had been gathering in the valley for over 8,000 years to enjoy the healing properties of the thermal springs. Around the 18th century the
Caddo settled in the area, followed by the
Choctaw,
Cherokee, and other tribes. There was agreement among the tribes that they'd put aside their weapons and partake of the healing waters in peace while in the valley. The
Quapaw lived in the
Arkansas River delta area and visited the springs.
The first bathhouses were really little more than brush huts and log cabins placed over excavations cut in the rocks to receive hot water that flowed from the springs. More elaborate bathing facilities soon developed, with wooden troughs delivering water from hillside springs to bathhouses along the east bank of Hot Springs Creek. Some of the tufa covering the hillside was excavated to accommodate the bathhouses. The narrow street along the west side of the creek was connected to the bathhouses by narrow bridges.
After direct federal supervision was exercised in 1877, major improvements were made. The creek was covered with stone arches, and above a street a hundred feet wide was built. All the squatters were evicted, rubbish cleaned, and a centralized plumbing system was begun.
The park operates a public campground at Gulpha Gorge, about two miles (3 km) from downtown Hot Springs.
City of Hot Springs
Bathing customs
It was believed the waters benefited diseases of the skin and blood, nervous affections, rheumatism and kindred diseases, and the "various diseases of women". In the case of
tuberculosis and lung diseases, and acute and inflammatory diseases, the use of the waters was considered injurious and in many cases very dangerous.
Government free baths
The Government free bathhouse for the indigent was established by Congress on
December 16,
1878. The
Ral Hole mudpit and pool were closed, and later the first Government Free Bathhouse operated at the site.
The water comes from rain which falls in mountains to the north and northeast. Flowing downward through cracked rock at about one foot a year, the meteoric water migrates to estimated minimum depths of 4,500 to and achieves high temperatures in the deep section of the flow path before rising along fault and fracture conduits. Under artesian pressure, the thermal waters rise and emerge through the Hot Springs Sandstone between the traces of two thrust faults, along several northeast-trending lineaments. Some rainwater from near the springs mixes with the deep hot water before discharge. The trip down takes about 4,000 years while the hot water takes about a year to reach the surface.
The heat comes from the natural heating of rocks as depth increases. The composition of the water indicates it's heated rainwater which hasn't approached a magmatic source, so no volcanic action is involved in the formation of these hot springs. The result is the mildly alkaline, pleasant tasting solution with dissolved calcium carbonate.
| Chemical |
Parts per million |
| Bicarbonate (HCO3) |
130.0 |
| Silica (SiO2) |
53.0 |
| Calcium (Ca) |
47.0 |
| Free Carbon Dioxide (CO2) |
9.7 |
| Sulfate (SO4) |
7.8 |
| Oxygen (O2) |
4.5 |
| Magnesium (Mg) |
4.9 |
| Chloride (Cl) |
2.2 |
| Sodium (Na) |
4.0 |
| Potassium (K) |
1.4 |
| Fluoride (F) |
0.26 |
References
Further Information
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