Flatnose Ranch Spring
The orange dot marks the spring, in a frame about three quarters of a mile wide.
Flatnose Ranch Spring is warm water on open BLM land a dozen miles out of Pioche, in Lincoln County, managed by the Caliente Field Office. The water is warm, shy of what most people want for soaking, and access is recorded as open. A 1985 water sample is on file, and so is a USGS site number.
Half a kilometer or so of walking from the road to the spring. The elevation puts it in upland basin country. Winter snow is moderate and rain is scarce. A water sample taken in 1985 tested mildly alkaline, with iron among the minerals found. The road itself goes nameless in the record.
January tops the listed months, with December and February behind it. The land is public and open, so no permission is needed, but the sample is forty years old and the temperature reading may be too, so check it with your hand before you trust it. Navigate by coordinates, since no road name is given.
USGS hasn't flown a detailed laser scan here yet, so this view comes from aerial photos and older elevation data.
- Setting
- Canyon floor
- Steep ground climbs away on both sides of the spring.
- Highest ground nearby
- 397 ft above the spring
- Within a quarter mile, to the southeast
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 45% 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.
The water at Flatnose Ranch Spring is slightly alkaline (pH 8.0).
Flatnose Ranch Spring sits at 5,515 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 Flatnose Ranch Spring
More Springs Around 77°F
Slightly Alkaline Springs (pH ~8.0)
Hike 1 waterfall near Flatnose Ranch Spring
Looking for more outdoor adventures? Explore waterfall hikes near Flatnose Ranch Spring, Nevada.