Belknap Springs is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and private
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...
s resort in
Lane County,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, United States, near the
McKenzie River. The springs were located and initially developed by R. S. Belknap in 1869. A post office named "Salt Springs" was established in the location in 1874, and the name changed to "Belknap Springs" in 1875.
The post office closed in 1877 and reopened in 1891, operating intermittently until 1953.
[ Today the location uses a McKenzie Bridge mailing address.
]
Belknap Hot Spring
Belknap Hot Spring itself is located across the McKenzie River from the resort at . The water is piped to the resort.
Touted as a mineral spa
Mineral spas are spa resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral springs. Like seaside resorts, they are mainly used recreationally although they also figured prominently in prescientific medicine.
Origins
Spas were used for millen ...
in the late 19th century, since then the resort site has gone through several changes of ownership and had various improvements made to it, including the addition of a hotel (currently a lodge) and cabins, forming a summer resort community. The resort has been almost continuously open to the public since the 1870s, except for a period of closure from 1968 to 1978.
Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Belknap Springs has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Belknap Springs, Oregon
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See also
*Belknap Bridge
The Belknap Bridge (also McKenzie River Bridge) crosses the McKenzie River near the unincorporated community of Rainbow in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is approximately three miles west of the town of McKenzie Bridge which is named ...
*Belknap Crater
Belknap Crater is a shield volcano in the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Linn County, it is associated with lava fields and numerous subfeatures including the Little Belknap and South Belknap volcanic cones. It lies north ...
*Spa town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits.
Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He ...
References
External links
*
*
* from Belknap Hot Springs, Spa and Gardens, current owners of the hot springs resort
* from McKenzie Hot Springs Cottage (owned by descendants of original Belknap Springs owners)
Hot springs of Oregon
Spa towns in Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Lane County, Oregon
1874 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1874
Unincorporated communities in Oregon
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