Silver Creek Hot Spring is a geothermal mineral spring in Valley County, Idaho.[3] It is located 23 miles North of the town of Crouch.[4] The hot spring is also known as the Silver Creek Plunge.[5] The spring flows into Silver Creek, and on to Middle Fork, a tributary of the Payette River.
| Silver Creek Hot Spring | |
|---|---|
Silver Creek Plunge | |
 E.H. Heller in Silver Creek Hot Spring, 1926 | |
 | |
| Location | Garden Valley, Idaho |
| Coordinates | 44°19′48″N 115°48′07″W / 44.330°N 115.802°W[2] |
| Elevation | 4,490[1] |
| Type | geothermal |
| Discharge | 540 gallons per minute |
| Temperature | 102°F / 39°C |
  Location in Idaho | |
History
edit
The hot springs area was used by local Indigenous peoples before the arrival of settlers.[6]
In the 1890s M.F. Eby recorded a mining claim at the site.[7] In 1917, mineral development and mining began.[8] Eby sold the claim in the 1920s to E.H. Heller who passed the property along to his son, Leland.[7]
In the 1930s, Silver Creek Lookout and campgrounds were built by CCC troops. Logging in the area began in the 1950s, and in 1959 a watershed research area was designated to study the impact of logging on the bathsolith. In 1956, Heller sold the property to Mert Lyons who along with Floyd Suttle built a series of hot springs resort cabins that became the Silver Creek Plunge, was built;[8] the establishment claims that the hot springs "began as a silver mine in the late 1890s" and was used by miners.[7]
In 2005, diesel oil was observed discharging from the hot spring at the Silver Creek Plunge commercial hot spring resort pool. The owner of the establishment was found to have a leaking 2,000 gallon storage tank that fed a generator, releasing 725 gallons of oil (80% #2 diesel and 20% cooking oil) into the spring. The leak occurred in winter and was not discovered until Spring. The fuel oil leaked into the hot springs pool and surrounding soil; 300 yards of contaminated soil were removed and the fuel that leaked into the commercial pool was removed using absorbent pads.[4]
Water profile
editThe hot spring water emerges from the source at 102 °F / 39 °C[2] at a rate of 540 gallons per minute.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Silver Creek Campground". United States Department of the Interior: Forest Service. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ a b Berry, George W.; Grim, Paul J.; Ikelman, Joy A. (1980). Thermal Spring List for the United States. Boulder, Colorardo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 24. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Silver Creek Integrated Resource Project. Boise National Forest. 2000. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Silver Creek Plunge". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Kaysing, Bill; Kaysing, Ruth (1993). Great Hot Springs of the West. Santa Barbara: Capra Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-88496-382-9.
- ^ The Nature Conservancy. "Silver Creek Watershed: An Ecological Enhancement Strategy for Silver Creek, Idaho" (PDF). Save Silver Creek. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ a b c "Silver Creek Plunge: Our History". Silver Creek Plunge. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ a b Boise National Forest (N.F.), Payette National Forest (N.F.) and Sawtooth National Forest (N.F.), Forest Plan Revision Environmental Impact Statement. United States Forest Service. 2000. p. 271. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "Silver Creek". Ultimate Hot Springs Guide.