Tag Archives: bathhouse

Truth or Consequences Hot Springs (Overview)

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Whenever I tell people about Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, I start off by saying, it’s an old bathhouse town.

According to Wikipedia,  “The first bath in the area was built at ‘John Cross Ranch’ over Geronimo Springs in the late 1800s.” According to a Sierra County website,

Downtown Truth or Consequences sits atop a large natural aquifer that produces somewhat salty, odorless water ranging in temperature from 100-115 degrees Fahrenheit…

The Chiricahua (Warm Springs) Apaches named these springs “Place to Pray” and considered them a sacred place for healing…

During the late 1800s, while neighboring areas…were experiencing the Gold and Silver Rush, the hot springs were visited by more and more people and the area became known as “Palomas Hot Springs.”

The same website says that the hot thermal water currently found in the bathhouses in T or C

flows out of a rift along the Rio Grande that appeared more than 50 million years ago.The rift uplifted Truth or Consequences’ landmark hill, and faults along the rift allow deep groundwater to flow freely to the surface without losing heat or minerals — producing pristine waters with temperatures ranging from 98 to 115 degrees, with trace elements of 38 different minerals…

The continually flowing waters also have two important and unique features:

— The water has no unpleasant odor.
— The single largest ingredient in the water is chloride, a naturally occurring germ killer that sterilizes the skin and ensures the purity of the water.

According to the Charles Motel and Hot Springs, the following is an analysis of the hot springs water in Truth or Consequences:

Water Analysis

Element ppm
Ag Silver 0.001
Al Aluminum 0.050
Ar Arsenic 0.050
Au Gold 0.005
B Boron 0.250
Ba Barium 0.200
Br Bromine 2.600
Ca Calcium 163.000
Cd Cadmium 0.001
Cl Chloride 1360.000
Co Cobalt 0.001
Cr Chromium 0.002
Cs Cesium 0.120
Cu Copper 0.002
F Floride 3.060
Fe Iron 0.020
Element ppm
Li Lithium 1.300
Mg Magnesium 15.300
Mn Manganese 0.010
Mo Molybdenum 0.002
Na Sodium 751.000
Ni Nickel 0.002
Pb Lead 0.002
Rb Rubidium 0.700
Sb Antimony 0.050
Se Selium 0.050
Si Silicon 21.000
Sr Strontium 3.820
Hg Mercury 0.050
K Potassium 56.000
U Uranium 0.100
Zn Zinc 0.010
Compound ppm
HCO3 Bicarbonate 220.000
NH4 Ammonium 0.050
NO3 Nitrate 0.200
PO4 Phosphate 0.200
SiO2 Silicate 45.000
SO4 Sulfate 75.100

Artesian Well Analysis determined by the Los Alamos National Laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, from samples taken May 31, 1987.

I have soaked in seven of the of the bathhouses open to the public in Truth or Consequences. (The baths at Fire Water Lodge and the Pelican Spa are open only to lodging guests. I have not soaked a the Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa, as it is really fancy and out of my price range.) To read my thoughts about each of the bathhouses where i took the waters, read Part 1 and Part 2 of my experiences at the Truth or Consequences hot springs.