Coso Hot Springs is a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

complex in the

Coso Volcanic Field The Coso Volcanic Field is located in Inyo County, California, at the western edge of the Basin and Range Province, Basin and Range geologic province and northern region of the Mojave Desert. The Fossil Falls are part of the Coso Field, created ...

in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

Inyo County, California Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is ...

. The Springs are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Geography

The Coso Hot Springs lie within the boundaries of the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake), near

Little Lake, Inyo County, California Little Lake is a former settlement in Inyo County that lies just off U.S. Route 395 on Little Lake Road. History Little Lake was established largely as a traveler's stop along what eventually became US 395, after the Los Angeles Department of Wa ...

and

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

. They are near the

Coso Mountains The Coso Range of eastern California is located immediately south of Owens Lake, east of the Sierra Nevada, and west of the Argus Range. The southern part of the range lies in the restricted Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and the northern p ...

, north of

Indian Wells Valley Indian Wells Valley is an arid north-south basin in east-central California. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator. It is defined by a maj ...

and south of the

Owens Valley Owens Valley ( Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Iny ...

. The

s are part of the geothermal activity of the

Water profile

The hot mineral water emerges from the ground at .

History

The springs were a traditional Native American cultural and healing ritual site of the Coso people, and later the Northern Paiute and

Timbisha The Timbisha ("rock paint", Timbisha language: Nümü Tümpisattsi) are a Native American tribe federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. They are known as the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and are located in sout ...

. The site is called Kooso or Muattang Ka in

. In the 1920s it was a "hot springs resort." Contemporary local Native American people periodically have ceremonies at the springs. Coso Hot Springs is the site of one of the largest (if not the largest) assemblages of prehistoric rock art in North America. The areas known as Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons by the hot springs have over 20,000 remarkably undisturbed images in a distinctive so-called Coso style. Coso-hot-springs

References

Hot springs of California Native American history of California Former Native American populated places in California History of Inyo County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in California Rustic architecture in California Bodies of water of Inyo County, California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Inyo County, California {{InyoCountyCA-NRHP-stub

Geography

Water profile

History

See also

References