Costa Rica`s hot springs receive a direct supply either from pristine rain forest sources, the aquifer or from rainwater. As igneous hot water seeps into the soil, it dissolves minerals from the permeable rocks it passes through.
To take advantage of them, thermal water facilities have been established in hotels and spas that provide visitors in search of health and relaxation the appropriate facilities for enjoying the continuous flow of fresh thermal waters, which are full of energy and minerals, as in the case of the Arenal Volcano source.
The origin, nature and manifestation of the thermal waters
The origin of hot springs is due to the heating of fresh water that seeps into the soil and porous rocks. Since hot water has a high dissolving power, the components of the permeable rocks that pass through, dissolve and become part of the load of mineral salts that the thermal waters carry with them when they leave the surface.
Types of heat sources that originate thermal waters
In the first case, hot springs occur outside volcanic areas due to the heating under the ground of deep natural water pools.
The energy of the hot springs comes from the normal heat of the earth’s crust, which corresponds to an average of 30 C per km of depth, called the thermal gradient (this is what causes the suffocating heat inside the mines).
The deeper the underground waters are, the more heat they will receive from the Earth and if they find any tectonic rupture in their way that favors it, then they are channeled towards the surface in the form of thermal springs.
Places with hot springs in Costa Rica
We can find them in many parts of our national territory including: Talamanca, Cartago, Agua Caliente, Rio Perlas, Valle Orosi, Arenal Volcano, Rincón de la Vieja, Miravalles and El Platanar, among others.
They are the result from the combination of underground waters heated up b volcanic rocks with cold water springs in the tropical rainforests.
Benefits of Hot Springs
Therapeutic uses of thermal waters include internal and external treatments (hydrotherapy) as well as medicinal mud (geotherapy). The mud applied as a mask on the skin removes excess body heat, absorbs toxins and other secretions from the skin.
Because hot water can keep more solids dissolved than cold water, hot springs have a high and diverse mineral content including the total range from calcium to the other end of the spectrum with lithium, at an even ratio.
Due to the proven medicinal value of the hot springs, the popular tourist destinations created around them are justified.
The thermal waters of the Arenal Volcano
The thermal waters of the Arenal Volcano are an extraordinary gift of nature which result from the interaction of groundwater with the magma of the active volcano that is Arenal.
So its internal and mineral energies, just as they emerge from the bowels of planet earth, are capable of giving a natural treatment to human skin as well as the entire body.
If you want to enjoy the hot springs of Arenal Volcano we highly recommend that you do, giving your body and skin an excellent natural healing treatment.
