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National park in British Columbia, Canada
Photo: Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) www.wyprawa.info, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Kootenay National Park is in the East Kootenays region of British Columbia, Canada. It is one component of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. The park includes parts of the Kootenay and Park mountain ranges, the Kootenay River and the entirety of the Vermilion River.
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The Paint Pots are an acidic, cold water, mineral spring system from which ochre is deposited at spring outlets. The minerals are principally iron oxide which produces the water and mud's reddish colour but other similar minerals can also be present and vary the colours to include various shades of yellow, red and brown. The acidic, metal-rich water has limited capacity to support living species, but at least 14 species of algae, one liverwort and one moss species, as well as some extremophilic bacteria, have been identified living in those waters. The ochre was collected by the Ktunaxa people for use as pigments and the iron oxide was commercially mined for use in paint manufacturing for nearly two decades until the park was established in 1920.
Development of the hot springs began in earnest after a British medical journal suggested, and a 1914 chemical analysis by McGill University confirmed, the presence of radium within the water.
Historic 1923 lodge with 12 cabins, restaurant and general store.
Has drinking water, toilets, and flush showers. Some sites have electrical hook up.
Unserviced. Has drinking water and flush toilets.
Unserviced. Has drinking water and flush toilets.
Unserviced. Has outhouses for bathrooms.
By car
Highway 93 South (also called the Banff-Windermere Highway) runs 94 km through the centre of the park.
By bus
Vancouver and Calgary have regular bus service to the nearby towns of Golden, BC and Banff, AB. There is no public transportation in Kootenay National Park.
By air
Calgary and Vancouver are the closest airports serviced by major national and international carriers.C.
Highway 93 is the main road in Kootenay, going from Lake Louise at the north end of Kootenay National Park to the Village of Radium Hot Springs at the south end.
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Calgary · International · YYC
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