Shoshone Spring

Nye County, California · Near Pahrump
35.9780°N, 116.2730°W · 1,607 ft
90°F 67°F air · Good soaking weather 1,607 ft Roadside

A roadside warm spring about five miles from Pahrump, Shoshone Spring is placed by the record in Nye County. The water sits right at the bottom edge of soaking temperature, bath-warm on a cold day. The road is under eighty feet off. There is no owner on file and no access status, and the USGS tracks it as a monitoring site.

Location

Dry desert valley, no snow, a few inches of rain a year at most. The road beside it has no recorded name. No land unit or manager is listed. With the USGS keeping a site record here, the spring has been measured at some point, though no sample date or chemistry made it into this listing.

The cold months are best here; there is nothing on record to recommend summer in this part of the desert. No campground is on file. The temperature is comfortable and safe. Nobody has recorded who owns it or who may enter, so the sensible move is to confirm you are allowed before you pull over.

Terrain

Aircraft with laser scanners measured this ground to within inches. The scan strips out trees and buildings, leaving the bare shape of the land around Shoshone Spring.

Aerial view of the ground around Shoshone Spring LiDAR bare-earth view of the same ground around Shoshone Spring
Aerial LiDAR bare earth

Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.

Setting
Hillside
The spring sits on a steep slope that climbs to the northwest.
Highest ground nearby
300 ft above the spring
Within a quarter mile, to the northwest
Cross-section through the spring

A slice through the ground from northwest to southeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.

Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.

Heat Below
110 milliwatts per square meter of heat flow

That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 61% of the springs on this site.

Heat flow measures the warmth working its way up through the ground from deep inside the earth. Where it runs high, rain and snowmelt that seep down through cracks in the rock come back up hot.

Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.

Monthly Climate
52°
Jan
56°
Feb
63°
Mar
69°
Apr
76°
May
88°
Jun
92°
Jul
91°
Aug
85°
Sep
71°
Oct
57°
Nov
48°
Dec
Annual Precip: 2.5 in Annual Snow: 0.2 in
Best Time to Visit
December Air 48°F · Water 90°F · +42° contrast
January Air 52°F · Water 90°F · +39° contrast
February Air 56°F · Water 90°F · +35° contrast
December offers 44°F more contrast than July
Current Conditions
67°F
WNW 0.1 mph 22% Good soaking weather
Tuesday 99° Low 70° Sunny 1% precip
Wednesday 96° Low 69° Sunny
Thursday 95° Low 68° Sunny
Friday 97° Low 67° Sunny
Saturday 102° Low 66° Sunny
Where to Stay

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Temperature
90°F
Warm Hot Boiling
Water Temp 90°F (32°C)
Avg Air Temp 71°F
Above Ambient +19°F
Mild soaking conditions September
Access
Road Access Roadside
Distance to Road 78 ft
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the water temperature at Shoshone Spring?
Shoshone Spring has a water temperature of 90°F (32°C). This is a warm thermal spring.
Where is Shoshone Spring located?
Shoshone Spring is located in Nye County, California at 1,607 feet elevation, near Pahrump. Coordinates: 35.9780°N, 116.2730°W.
How do I get to Shoshone Spring?
Shoshone Spring has Roadside road access (78 ft from the road).
Sources: USGS NWIS