US Forestry Department

About forestry service, 83128, Alpine, WY, US, Idaho

Soda Springs is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 3,133 at the time of the 2020 census. The city has been the county seat of Caribou County since the county was organized in 1919. In the 1860s, Soda Springs served as the seat of Oneida County. == History == The city is named for the hundreds of natural springs of carbonated water that are located in and around the city. The springs were known to Native Americans, and were a landmark along the Oregon Trail in the middle 19th century. The city is also the location of the Soda Springs Geyser, which was unleashed in 1937 when town fathers were seeking hot water for a hot pool bathing attraction. They drilled into a chamber of highly pressurized carbon dioxide gas and cold water, and the geyser erupted. After running for weeks and flooding the downtown area it was capped and then manually released, at first upon request, as a tourist attraction. More recently a timed release valve opens every hour on the hour.