Hot Spring
The real HOT SPRINGS !
Did you know this about Hot Springs?
Hot Springs National Park Ranger James Cary was the first National Park Service ranger to be killed in the line of duty. He was shot by bootleggers while patrolling West Mountain on March 12, 1927.
The hot springs are the primary natural resource of the park, but they 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. The park and its surrounding mountains exhibit a south-central United States pine-oak-hickory forest ecosystem. The park's vegetation, thermal waters, cold water springs, bathhouses and associated cultural features, foot trails, prehistoric and historic novaculite quarries, and general physiography combine to form an almost 5400 acre area of resource preservation and interpretation that is under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the federal government. Another 672.69 acres are within the park boundary but are not federally owned.
The city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, with an approximate population of 33,000, lies immediately outside the park and exerts a significant influence on it.
Environmental Factors
From atop Hot Springs Mountain Tower, you can see the forested mountains of the park.
Hot Springs National Park surrounds the north end of the city of Hot Springs with a population of 33,000. Although some park boundaries are bordered by undeveloped forested lands, much of the park is adjacent to city streets and homes. These areas are subject to air pollution, exotic plant and animal species, and trash dumping. The park is an island of green in the developed downtown area. Resource inventories are currently underway to better prepare for the protection of the park's natural resources.
Did you know this about Hot Springs?
Hot Springs Reservation, the first designation of Hot Springs National Park, was set aside by Congress in 1832. This makes Hot Springs National Park the oldest unit in the national park system, 40 years older than Yellowstone National Park.
