Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs is the tenth most populous city in the state of Arkansas in the United States of America, the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, and the principal city of the 'Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Garland County. The population was 35,750 at the 2000 census.

Hot Springs is traditionally best known for the natural spring water that gives it its name, flowing out of the ground at a very high 147 degrees Fahrenheit (64 degrees Celsius). The tourist trade that this brought made it a very successful spa town. However, it is now also noted as the boyhood home of US President Bill Clinton. It is a sister city of Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan. It is the home of the Arlington Hotel, which was a popular retreat for Al Capone.

Geography

Hot Springs is located at 34ø29'50?N, 93ø3'19?W (34.497138, -93.055393)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 85.5 km sq (33.0 mi sq). 85.2 km sq (32.9 mi sq) of it is land and 0.3 km sq (0.1 mi sq) of it (0.36%) is water. Hot Springs is now a Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Culture

The city takes its name from the natural thermal water that flows from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain in the historic downtown district of the city. Approximately 800,000 gallons of 143-degree water flows from the springs each day. The rate of flow is not affected by fluctuations in the rainfall in the area. Studies by National Park Service 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 earlier. 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.

Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto was the first European to visit what Native Americans called 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 untold numbers of years to enjoy the healing properties of the thermal springs. There was agreement among the tribes that they would put aside their weapons and partake of the healing waters in peace while in the valley.

Congress established the Hot Springs Reservation in 1832, granting federal protection of the thermal waters and giving Hot Springs the honor of being the first "national park" to be designated for such government protection. Hot Springs National Park was formally created in 1911.

World-famous Bathhouse Row, consisting of eight turn-of-the century structures, lies within the National Park and is supervised by the Park Service. Only one of the bathhouses, The Buckstaff, remains in operation. The federally supervised natural thermal waters are also used for thermal bathing at several downtown hotels, health spas and the Arkansas Rehabilitation Center. The water is available free for drinking at several fountains in the downtown area.

The city has been a tourist mecca for generations due to the thermal waters and attractions such as Oaklawn Park, a thoroughbred racing facility; Magic Springs & Crystal Falls theme parks; a fine arts community that has earned the city the No. 4 position among "America's Top 100 Small Arts Towns"; the Hot Springs Music Festival; and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, held each October at the historic Malco Theater, one of the top documentary festivals in the world, attracting numerous Academy Award winning films and producers. Lacey Cole, a local resident, was noted for designing posters for the documentary.

Other annual events in town include the Hot Springs Jazz Festival in Sept (free) , The Hot Springs Blues Festival in Sept (free), The downtown Bathtub Races (spring), The Big Barbecue Cook off (spring and fall), the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade every March 17th, and The outdoor skating rink November through January.

Educational institutes and conventions are also important events in the Spa city. Perhaps the most popular of these events is the Hot Springs Technology Institute (HSTI) drawing over 1300 participants each June. Hot Springs is also home to the annual alternate reality game Midnight Madness, based on the movie from which it gets its name. Teams race throughout the city at night, solving clues based on difficult puzzle and physical challenges. Games last 12 hours or more, with the winning team designing next year's game.

Points of interest

The Bath House Show
Garvan Woodland Gardens
Mid-America Science Museum
Hot Springs National Park
Oaklawn Park
Hot Springs Mountain Tower
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Magic Springs & Crystal Falls
Superlift Offroad Park

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