Sespe Hot Springs (

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also * Chumash traditional ...

: S'eqp'e') are a system of

thermal springs 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 ...

and seeps that form a hot spring creek in the mountains near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary near Ojai, California.

Description

The hot springs were used for centuries by local indigenous people for their warmth and healing properties. The hot springs and hot creek are located in a remote desert mountainous area in

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mon ...

. The hot mineral water emerges from the ground at 194 °F / 90 °C through a series of seeps that flows down a hillside, cooling as it enters several primitive, rock and boulder-lined soaking pools. The temperature of the water cools as it mixes with cool water from a creek. Several seeps along the creekside emerge at cooler temperatures than the main springs. At the site, there is also a primitive rock sauna, and a hot waterfall.

Location

The hot springs are located 20 miles northeast of

Sespe Creek Sespe Creek ( Chumash: S'eqp'e', "Kneecap") is a stream, some long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 16, 2011 in Ventura County, southern California, in the Wester ...

canyon, approximately 20 miles from Matilija Canyon and 15 miles south of the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizontal) ...

. The hot springs are accessible on foot or by horseback only. There are three rugged trails leading to the springs. The springs can be reached via the Sespe River Trail (16.8 miles each way); the Johnson Ridge Trail (9.5 miles each way); and the Alder Creek Trail (7.5 miles each way).

Willett Hot Springs Willett Hot Springs is located in the Sespe Wilderness, North of Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa ...

are also located in the Sespe Wilderness area.

Water profile

The hot mineral water flows from at least four spring clusters on a bank above Sespe Creek, a source on the steep slope, and from seeps in the stream bed gravel. In 1915 the water temperature was measured at from one of the springs on the high slope above the creek. The springs on the bank emerge from crushed shale and decomposed granite. In 2008 the spring water was measured at .

References

{{Reflist Hot springs of California Los Padres National Forest Springs of Ventura County, California