Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia

Radium Hot Springs, informally and commonly called Radium is a village of 1,339 residents in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The village is named for the hot springs in the nearby Kootenay National Park. From Banff, Alberta, it is accessible via Highway 93.
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. 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 from a dose impact perspective.

WWW radiumhotsprings.ca

Geography

Radium is 16 km north of the tourist town of Invermere, and 105 km south of Golden, British Columbia. It is 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.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, 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.

Economy

Baymag mines magnesium out of Mount Brussilof, 35 kilometres from town. The deposit was discovered in 1966. Proven reserves in excess of 50 million tonnes of magnesite ore were found. The ore is trucked to Exshaw, Alberta for calcination, other processes and onwards sale.

Amenities

Several golf courses are located nearby, along with 675 hotel and motel rooms.

Kootenay National Park

The southwestern entrance to Kootenay National Park 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, 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.