We drove over to Hot Springs today which is less than an hour away. We saw most of the things to see in Hot Springs when we were there last September except we didn't see one of the actual hot springs. The arrow points to where a spring comes out and then flows down over the rock into a pool. The below picture showes where the water is coming out of the ground. We could not believe how hot the water was when we stuckout fingers in it. There are 47 thermal water springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain in the downtown district of the town. About a MILLION gallons of 143-degree water flows from the springs EACH DAY! The rate of flow is not affected by fluctuations in the area's rainfall. Studies by scientists have determined through carbon dating that the water that reaches the surface in Hot Springs fell as rainfall in an as-yet undetermined watershed 4,000 years ago. The water percolates very slowly down through the earth's surface until it reaches superheated areas deep in the crust and then rushes rapidly to the surface to emerge from the 47 hot springs. Water from some of the springs is channeled to the 8 Bath Houses that are all in a row on Central Ave. In the early 1900's, people from all over the world flocked to Hot Springs to have the thermal, mineral, theraputic baths. The Bath Houses have been restored and may still are functioning spas today.
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