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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
Hot Springs National ParkThe front of the Fordyce Bathhouse, the park visitor center.
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Hot Springs National Park
Collecting and Distributing the Hot Spring Water
color photo of Noble Fountain (1892) which has a light gray marble base decorated with a federal shield and a bronze upper that consists of three bald eagles with wings spread and a ball rising between them

The Noble Fountain dating from 1892 is one of the many fountains where visitors may drink the hot spring water.

Water from the hot springs is Hot Springs National Park's primary resource. Congress first protected the hot springs in 1832, and it intended for the water to be used.

  1. How is the hot spring water collected for use today?
  2. How was the hot spring water collected in the past?
  3. How much hot spring water is collected?
  4. How much hot spring water is used?
  5. Is the hot spring water good to drink?
  6. What makes the water hot?
Gulpha Creek in fall, below campground amphitheater, with bridge over Gorge Road in right background  

Did You Know?
The name Gulpha Creek is a corruption of the French name for the stream. Explorer William Dunbar reports the name "Fourche รก Calfat" in the journal of his visit in 1804. Calfat eventually became Gulpha.

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Last Updated: December 14, 2007 at 11:05 EST