Chena Hot Springs (thermal mineral springs)

This article is about the geothermal mineral springs. For the resort town, see Chena Hot Springs, Alaska.
Chena Hot Springs
Map
LocationYukon-Tanana Plateau
Coordinates65°03′11″N 146°03′20″W / 65.05306°N 146.05556°W / 65.05306; -146.05556
Elevation1,200 feet
TypeGeothermal
Discharge165 °F / 74 °C
Temperature153°F / 67°C

Chena Hot Springs are a system of thermal mineral springs located within the Yukon-Tanana Plateau near the town of Chena Hot Springs, approximately 50 miles northeast of Fairbanks, Alaska.[1]

The springs consist of several hot soaking pools and a rock-lined warm lake only accessible to those over age 18. There is also a glassed-in indoor 90 °F swimming pool located at an onsite lodge that is powered by a geothermal power plant nearby.[2]

There is now a small 8 person Jacuzzi outdoors heated to the same temperature as the indoor pool. In the winter there is a covered path to the lake.

A rare form of quartz-encrusted zeolite, yugawaralite, was found near Chena Hot Springs. It has also been found near hot springs in Japan and Iceland.[3]

Canadian First Nations peoples and Native Alaskans traditionally used hot springs for healing and bathing. In the early years of the 20th Century, Chena hot springs were used by homesteaders and surveyors.[4]

  1. ^ Erkan, Kamil; Holdman, Gwen; Blackwell, David; Benoit, Walter (2007). "Thermal Characteristics of the Chena Hot Springs Alaska Geothermal System" (PDF). Proceedings: Thirty-Second Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Stanford University. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ Gersh, Marjorie; Loam, Jason (2008). Hot Springs and Hot Pools of the Northwest. Santa Cruz, CA: Aqua Thermal Access. ISBN 9781890880088. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ Eberlein, G. Donald; Erd, R.C.; Weber, Florence; Beatty, L.B. (1971). "New Occurrence OF Yugawaralite from the Chena Hot Springs Area, Alaska" (PDF). The American Mineralogist. 56 (September-October 1971). Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. ^ Bro, Lindsey (2022). Thermal: Healing with Heat - Saunas, Hot Springs & Baths. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-7972-1857-1.