Charnock (Big Blue) Springs
Drag the handle to compare the two views. The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Charnock Springs, also called Big Blue Springs, rises warm on BLM-managed ground in Nye County, sixty-some miles from Tonopah. The water on file is mild, short of a proper soak. Access is open. The USGS site number attached to it is the same one recorded for Big Blue (A) Spring, so the two listings point at the same ground.
Lower Mine Road is the nearest named road, about eight tenths of a mile off, so count on walking. Tonopah Field Office land, BLM. Nearly fifty-five hundred feet up, high desert, eight inches of annual precipitation, winter snow adding up to a bit over two feet.
Winter scores highest on file. Warm water only, no burn risk. BLM land, open, with no fee listed and no camping on record. The walk is under a mile each way, but nothing on record describes the route, so navigate on your own.
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 Charnock (Big Blue) Springs.
- Setting
- Open ground
- Flat, open ground all around.
- Highest ground nearby
- 14 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the east
A slice through the ground from southwest to northeast, about 0.6 miles end to end.
Elevation data: USGS 3D Elevation Program. Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map. Public domain.
That's about 1½ times the US average of 65. It's higher than at 30% 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.
See every spring on the geothermal heat map →
Heat flow estimate: Stanford Thermal Earth Model (Aljubran & Horne, 2024), CC BY 4.0.
Charnock (Big Blue) Springs sits at 5,480 feet above sea level, way above the mile-high mark. You may not feel the altitude strongly, but hot water still dehydrates you faster at elevation. UV is about 22% stronger than at sea level, so bring sunscreen and drink more water than you normally would.
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Springs Near Charnock (Big Blue) Springs
More Springs Around 80°F
Hike 1 waterfall near Charnock (Big Blue) Springs
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Charnock (Big Blue) Springs, Nevada.