Photo by Fæ, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
🇺🇸 USA · New Mexico
♨ Temperature
42°C
⛰ Altitude
1800 m
⚗ pH
8.1
💧 TDS
2200 mg/L
🌊 Flow rate
30 L/s
📅 Established
Pre-Pueblo Indigenous use
✓ Verified on 2026-07-22
Ojo Caliente is the only place in the world where four rare minerals — iron, arsenic, soda, and lithia — all emerge from separate springs at the same location. Sacred to Pueblo peoples and to the Tewa-speaking Ohkay Owingeh for thousands of years. The Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate visited in 1598 calling it 'the largest, most famous spring in New Mexico.' The springs operate as a wellness resort set against the dramatic red-cliff landscapes of northern New Mexico.
| Iron (Fe²⁺) | 16.2 mg/L |
| Arsenic (medicinal dose) | 0.32 mg/L |
| Sodium Bicarbonate | 820 mg/L |
| Lithium | 4.6 mg/L |
| Fluoride | 8.4 mg/L |
Ojo Caliente is one of North America's oldest continuously operating health resorts, with documented use by Pueblo peoples extending back over 11,000 years. The site is sacred to the Tewa-speaking Ohkay Owingeh and appears in their origin stories. Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate visited in 1598, making it one of the first American thermal sites documented by European explorers.
Ojo Caliente embodies the deep spiritual connection between southwestern indigenous peoples and their water sources. The concept of sacred springs as places of healing, prayer, and community gathering is central to Pueblo and Tewa spiritual traditions. The modern resort honours this heritage through partnerships with local Pueblo communities and programmes that educate visitors on the springs' cultural significance.
Ojo Caliente sits in the high desert of northern New Mexico, where water is the most precious resource. The springs' flow is monitored by New Mexico's Interstate Stream Commission, and extraction is governed by water rights agreements. The resort participates in watershed restoration projects in partnership with local land trusts and indigenous communities to protect the Ojo Caliente River.
Phone+1 505 583 2233
Websiteojocalientesprings.com
Address50 Ojo Caliente Blvd, Ojo Caliente, NM 87549