Radium Hot Springs
Radium Hot Springs is a village of approximately 800 people situated in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The village is named for the hot springs located in the nearby Kootenay National Park. From Banff, Alberta, it is accessible via Highway 93.
After a long day of enjoying the many activities that Radium has to offer, soak away your aches and pains in the 40°C (104°F) therapeutic, odorless mineral hot springs. It is located within the boundaries of Kootenay National Park, considered to be amongst the finest in the world. Unlike some Hot Springs, these waters are free of odorous sulphur.
The hot springs were named after the radioactive element when an analysis of the water showed that it contained small traces of radon which is a decay product of radium.[1] The radiation dosage from bathing in the pools is inconsequential; approximately .13mrem from the water for a half-hour bathing.
Radium is located 16 km north of the tourist town of Invermere, and 105 km south of Golden, British Columbia. It is located at the junction of Highway 95 and Highway 93, in the Columbia River valley, between the river and Kootenay National Park.
Wildlife in the area includes mule deer, grizzly bears, black bears, Mountain goats and Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. The province’s name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858. Its Latin motto is Splendor sine occasu (“Splendour without Diminishment”). British Columbia’s capital is Victoria, located at the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island.
British Columbia contains seven of Canada’s national parks:
- Glacier National Park
- Gulf Islands National Park Reserve
- Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site
- Kootenay National Park
- Mount Revelstoke National Park
- Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
- Yoho National Park
- British Columbia also contains a large network of provincial parks
Much of the province is wild or semi-wild, so that populations of many mammalian species that have become rare in much of the United States still flourish in British Columbia.
Given its varied mountainous terrain and its coasts, lakes, rivers, and forests, British Columbia has long been enjoyed for pursuits like hiking and camping, rock climbing and mountaineering, hunting and fishing.
Consistent with both increased tourism and increased participation in diverse recreations by British Columbians has been the proliferation of lodges, chalets, bed and breakfasts, motels, hotels, fishing camps, and park-camping facilities in recent decades.