Liard Hot Springs
Feature Type:Hotsprings / Hot Springs - Site of a natural flow of hot or warm water issuing from the ground. Plural of Hotspring / Hot Spring.
Status: Official
Name Authority: BC Geographical Names Office
Relative Location: NW of junction of Trout and Liard Rivers, at Liard River (locality), Cassiar Land District
Latitude-Longitude: 59°25'34"N, 126°06'14"W at the approximate centre of this feature.
Datum: WGS84
NTS Map: 94M/8
Origin Notes and History:

Theresa Hot Springs was adopted 3 May 1951 on 94 M, as applied by the US Army road construction crews during construction of the Alaska Highway. Name changed to Liard Hotsprings (not Theresa Hot Springs) 5 July 1951 on 94 M. Form of name changed to Liard Hot Springs 25 February 1985 on 94 M/8.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

The hot spring ecosystem here is the second largest in Canada and is surrounded by a lush boreal spruce forest and marsh. Many of the plants survive at this latitude only because of the effect that the hot springs have on the climate [of the surrounding area] - known as the "Liard Tropical Valley." In early times the Kaska First Nations lived and hunted in the area. Later, trappers and prospectors discovered the hotpools and in 1835 the Hudson Bay Company Factor Robert Campbell recorded their presence in his diary. The first boardwalk and pool facilities were built by the American Army during the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942. (BC Parks brochure)

Source: BC place name cards, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff.