Radium Hot Springs, informally and commonly called Radium, is a village of 1,339 residents situated in the

East Kootenay The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is a regional district in the provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. In the 2016 census, the population was 60,439. Its area is . The regional district ...

region of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The village is named for the hot springs located in the nearby

Kootenay National Park Kootenay National Park is a national park of Canada located in southeastern British Columbia. The park consists of of the Canadian Rockies, including parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Ve ...

. From

Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise. At above Banff is the community with the second highest e ...

, it is accessible via

Highway 93 Route 93 or Highway 93 can refer to: International * European route E93 Australia - Victoria Canada * Alberta Highway 93 * British Columbia Highway 93 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 93 * Ontario Highway 93 China * G93 Chengyu Ring Expr ...

. The hot springs were named after the

radioactive element A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transfer ...

when an analysis of the water showed that it contained small traces of

radon Radon is a chemical element with the symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colourless, odourless, tasteless noble gas. It occurs naturally in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the normal radioactive decay chains through ...

which is a decay product of radium. The radiation dosage from bathing in the pools is inconsequential; approximately from the water for a half-hour bathing, around ten times average background levels. The air concentration of radon is about which is higher than the level () at which mitigation within two years is encouraged at residences; but is also inconsequential (about for a half-hour bathing) from a dose impact perspective.

Geography

Radium Hot Springs Looking North BC95 BC93

Radium is located 16 km north of the tourist town of

Invermere Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. It is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden to the north and Cranbrook to the south. Invermere sits on the northwest shore of Windermere Lake and ...

, and 105 km south of

Golden, British Columbia Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, west of Calgary, Alberta, and east of Vancouver. History In 1807, David Thompsonrenowned fur trader, surveyor, and map-makerwas tasked by the North West Company to open a trading route ...

. It is located at the junction of

Highway 95 Route 95, or Highway 95, may refer to routes in the following countries: __TOC__ International * European route E95 Australia * Great Northern Highway (Western Australia) * Fossickers Way (New South Wales) Canada * British Columbia Highway 95 ...

and

, in the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

valley, between the river and

. Wildlife in the area includes

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs and ...

s and

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Radium Hot Springs had a population of 1,339 living in 634 of its 1,366 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 776. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Amenities

Several

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s are located nearby, along with 675 hotel and motel rooms.

Kootenay National Park

The southwestern entrance to

is located immediately east of the village limits, with Highway 93 leading into the park lined with motels.

Hot springs

The hot springs complex itself is located just within the national park and contains two large pools, one with hot water for soaking (usually around the temperature of ), the other a 25 m swimming pool that is usually around . There is also a hot-tub-sized pool that has been dubbed the "Plunge Pool", because the water can be hot right from the source at or cold, right from a creek running beneath the pools.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Hot springs of British Columbia Populated places in the Regional District of East Kootenay British Columbia populated places on the Columbia River Villages in British Columbia