Indian Wells Valley

Indian Wells Valley
Indian Wells Valley, showing Ridgecrest, California and the China Lake area.
Length	33 miles (53 km) N-S
Geography
Borders on	Argus Range (E) Coso Range (N) El Paso Mountains (S) Sierra Nevada (W)
Coordinates	35°42′10″N 117°41′11″W / 35.70278°N 117.68639°W / 35.70278; -117.68639

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 major fault on the west side of the valley. Unlike Owens Valley, it is bound by a fault to the south, the Garlock Fault (within the El Paso Mountains). The valley is part of California's South Lahontan hydrologic region.^[1]

Owens Peak, located west of the Indian Wells Valley, overlooks the basin from the west at 8,452 feet, making it the tallest peak in the southern Sierra Nevada range. Other mountain ranges surrounding the valley include the Argus Range in the east, the Coso Range in the north, and the El Paso Mountains in the south.