Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park, national park in central Arkansas, originally established by the Congress of the United States as a federal reservation in 1832 to protect 47 thermal springs. The park was designated a national park in 1921. The area was supposedly visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541, and it eventually drew many people who sought relief from illness by bathing in and drinking the pure spring waters.

Water from the springs remains near 62° C (143° F) throughout the year; flows fluctuate between 2.8 and 3.6 million liters (750,000 and 950,000 gallons) a day. The water is collected, stored, cooled, and piped to bathhouses and an arthritis hospital. More than one million people visit the park each year to bathe in the water; visit Bathhouse Row, which includes the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center; camp; or hike along the trails which surround the resort city of Hot Springs. Area, 2,246 hectares (5,550 acres).

Reviewed by: National Park Service