| Radium Hot Springs | |
| Official Name: | Village of Radium Hot Springs[1] |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Mapsize: | 220px |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada British Columbia |
| Pushpin Label Position: | none |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Radium Hot Springs in British Columbia |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 220 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | British Columbia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Columbia Valley/East Kootenay (Canadian Rockies) |
| Subdivision Type3: | Regional district |
| Subdivision Name3: | East Kootenay |
| Leader Title: | Governing body |
| Leader Name: | Radium Town Council |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Michael Gray |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | 1991 |
| Area Land Km2: | 6.34 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 1339 |
| Population Density Km2: | 211.3 |
| Timezone: | MST |
| Utc Offset: | −7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −6 |
| Elevation M: | 808 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | V0A 1M0 |
| Area Code: | 250 / 778 / 236 |
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.[3] The radiation dosage from bathing in the pools is inconsequential: approximately 0.13mrem from the water for a half-hour bathing, around ten times average background levels. The air concentration of radon is about 23order=flipNaNorder=flip which is higher than the level at which mitigation within two years is encouraged at residences;[4] but is also inconsequential (about 0.7disp=orNaNdisp=or for a half-hour bathing) from a dose impact perspective.[5]
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.
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.[6]
Baymag mines magnesium out of Mount Brussilof, 35 kilometres from town.[7] 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 AB for calcination, other processes and onwards sale.[8]
Several golf courses are located nearby, along with 675 hotel and motel rooms.
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.
The hot springs complex itself is located just within the national park and contains two large pools, one with hot water for soaking (usually around the temperature of 39C), 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.