Coso Hot Springs is a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

complex in the Coso Volcanic Field in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

Inyo County, California Inyo County () is a County (United States), county in the Eastern California, eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the po ...

. The Springs are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

The Coso Hot Springs lie within the boundaries of the

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Instal ...

(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 ...

and U.S. Route 395. They are near the Coso Mountains, 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 (Mono language (California), Mono: ''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 (U.S.), Sierra ...

. The

s are part of the

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

activity of the Coso Volcanic Field.

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 Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

and

Timbisha The Timbisha ("rock paint", Timbisha language: Nümü Tümpisattsi) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe federally recognized tribes, federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. The ...

. 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.

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 Springs 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