Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location	Garland County, Arkansas, USA
Nearest city	Hot Springs
Coordinates	34°30′49″N 93°3′13″W / 34.51361°N 93.05361°W / 34.51361; -93.05361Coordinates: 34°30′49″N 93°3′13″W / 34.51361°N 93.05361°W / 34.51361; -93.05361
Area	5,550 acres (22.5 km2)
Established	April 20, 1832 (designated as National Park on March 4, 1921)
Visitors	1,544,300 (in 2016)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park is a United States National Park in central Garland County, Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Hot Springs, the county seat. Hot Springs Reservation was initially created by an act of the United States Congress on April 20, 1832 to be preserved for future recreation. Established before the concept of a national park existed, it was the first time that a piece of land had been set aside by the federal government to preserve its use as an area for recreation.

The hot spring water has been popularly believed for centuries to possess medicinal properties, and was a subject of legend among several Native American tribes. Following federal protection in 1832, the city developed into a successful spa town. Incorporated January 10, 1851, the city has been home to Major League Baseball spring training, illegal gambling, speakeasies and gangsters such as Al Capone, horse racing at Oaklawn Park, the Army and Navy Hospital, and 42nd President Bill Clinton. The area was made a national park on March 4, 1921. It is the smallest national park by area in the United States and could fit into the largest National Park in the United States, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, almost 2,400 times. Since Hot Springs National Park is the oldest park maintained by the National Park Service, it was the first to receive its own US quarter in April 2010 as part of the America the Beautiful Quarters coin series.

The hot springs flow from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain, part of the Ouachita Mountain range. In the park, the hot springs 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.

Following 8,000 years of use by Indigenous peoples, European Americans discovered and appropriated the springs. They have used the hot spring water in therapeutic baths for more than 200 years to treat rheumatism and other ailments. While this was a reservation, the area developed into a well-known resort nicknamed The American Spa; it attracted not only the wealthy but indigent health seekers from around the world.