Some Like It Hot

One of America's oldest national parks is both a geothermal marvel and a refreshing getaway in Central Arkansas

-  CAROLINE ROGERS

AT THE CORNER of Central Avenue and Reserve Street stands a pale yellow basin ringed with silver taps. No matter the time of day, there's usually a cluster of people standing around it, each of them filling up empty bottles and gallon jugs. This is a free public fountain, one of several in the area, and it provides a taste of the waters that have stirred the legend of Hot Springs, Arkansas, for centuries.

As a resource, water is often taken for granted, but in this patch of the state, it's impossible to ignore. Located at the base of Hot Springs Mountain are 47 springs, and the fabled liquid they release averages a steamy 143 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nestled in the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs National Park surrounds the namesake town, and its centerpiece is the water.

Although it seems like magic when you see the steam rising from the earth, the geologic process that heats the water below the park takes 4,400 years to complete. That means what emerges today entered the ground when the pyramids were still new. The heat comes not from volcanic activity but from the liquid's long journey beneath the surface. It moves through folded and fractured rock, a matrix that is filled with small fissures through which the rain seeps. It continues down for 4,000 years and then back up for 400, warming and absorbing minerals as it goes.

The thermal springs gave rise to a community and still power the area's tourism. "People's relationship to water is different here," says Ashley Waymouth, the interpretation programs manager for Hot Springs National Park, which manages the water. Around 700,000 gallons are collected each day and can be accessed at no cost from the area's public taps.