A Hot Topic

Have you ever visited a natural hot spring?

1 People visiting Hot Springs, Arkansas, get to take part in a tradition that is thousands of years old. Many years before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans used the clean, fresh, hot water that burbled to the surface of Earth. Stone artifacts found in the vicinity led archaeologists to conclude that the springs were a place for different Native American tribes to bathe, relax, trade, and hunt.

2 In 1803, the United States purchased the Hot Springs area from France as part of the Louisiana Territory. Congress wanted to preserve the 47 natural springs in the area, so in 1832, they established the Hot Springs Reservation. In 1921, the reservation was renamed Hot Springs National Park.

3 People have long believed in the healing, therapeutic effects of hot springs. Temporary bathhouses were erected over individual hot springs so that people could soak in the warm waters. They even drank the water, hoping that it would heal their ailments. During the prosperous 1920s, bathhouses were built in Arkansas to draw wealthy tourists to visit the area. The bathhouses were beautiful, ornate structures, often having marble and tile walls and floors and decorative statues and fountains.

4 Visitors would come from near and far, hoping to benefit from the spas on Bathhouse Row. Today, it is not known whether the water can truly improve health. Any benefits it has are probably due to the high concentration of minerals and the high temperature—about 143 degrees Fahrenheit—at which the water rises to Earth’s surface.

5 Although hot springs are commonly found in areas where magma, or molten rock, lies close to Earth’s surface, that is not the case at Hot Springs National Park. In this area of Arkansas, there are two types of porous, or absorbent, rock. The rainwater soaks into the rocks, and they slowly carry it far underground. Scientists believe that the water produced by the hot springs today is about 4,000 years old! That’s how long it takes for the rainwater to travel 2,000 to 8,000 feet into Earth and eventually rise again through underground cracks and faults.

6 One of the most remarkable things about the water is that it is sterile. This characteristic is so unique that NASA scientists stored samples of moon rock in water from the hot springs while they looked for signs of life.

7 If you visit Hot Springs National Park today, you can still go to one of the original bathhouses on Bathhouse Row. There, you can bathe in the warm, odorless water and imagine people doing exactly the same thing hundreds of years ago. You can even bring a jug on your trip so that you can collect water during your stay and bring it home with you. There’s no need to worry about the springs running dry—they produce an average of about 850,000 gallons of water a day.

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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1. What benefit do people expect to gain from drinking or bathing in the hot springs?

2. When were most of the bathhouses on Bathhouse Row constructed?

3. What is the average temperature of the water?

4. How did NASA scientists use water from the hot springs?

5. Do you think the hot springs at Hot Springs National Park will ever run out of water? Explain your answer.

6. Number the events below to show the order in which they happened.

_____ Many bathhouses were built in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Hot Spring Reservation was renamed Hot Springs National Park.

Native Americans used the hot springs for many years before Europeans discovered them.

Hot Spring Reservation was established.

The U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory.

7. How is the way that Native Americans used the hot springs similar to the ways that the springs are used today?

8. Which word in paragraph 3 means “relating to a treatment or cure”?

Spectrum Reading Grade 6

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