Manby Hot Springs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Manby Hot Springs |
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| Stagecoach Hot Springs | |
Manby hot spring bathhouse ruins Manby Hot Springs, Rio Grande Gorge
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| Location | near Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 36°30′48″N 105°43′32″W / 36.51333°N 105.72556°W |
| Elevation | 6,500 feet |
| Type | geothermal |
| Temperature | 100°F/37°C |
Manby Hot Springs, also known as Stagecoach Hot Springs are thermal springs located near the town of Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico. The three rock pools have sandy bottoms and are located near the ruins of an old bathhouse and a historical stagecoach stop.
Water profile
The hot mineral water emerges from the ground at 100° Fahrenheit.
History
The hot springs were used by the Puebloan cultures for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The indigenous name for the site is Wa-pu-mee, which roughly translates to "water of long life". In 1880, the Chili Line (Santa Fe Branch) of the narrow-gauge Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad began stopping at Taos Junction and the hot springs became a tourist attraction that was accessible by stagecoach. Shortly thereafter two local Taos merchants, Albert Miller and Gerson Gusdorf built a bridge to the springs and charged tourists as well as locals to cross the bridge.
In 1890, British-born traveler Arthur Rochford Manby coerced a claim to the 60,000+ acre Antonio Martínez land grant on which the springs were located. In his biography of Manby, Frank Waters has written that Manby "lied, schemed and stole" to secure the land. Manby was involved in numerous disputes with the locals, and by the early 1900s he went to live out near the springs. In 1922, Manby envisioned a resort, which he planned to name Lost Springs of the Aztec; that would include a luxury hotel with the springs as the centerpiece. All that was built was a rock-walled bathouse. He died in 1929 without realizing his plan for development.
Location
The springs are within the Rio Grande del Norte National Historical Monument land, with a road easement of the Bureau of Land Management. The springs are located at 36°30’48”N 105°43’32”W on the east bank of the Rio Grande river gorge.
