Alkali Hot Springs
- Location
- Mono County, California, États-Unis d'Amérique
- Water type
- iron-rich
- Temperature
- 38 °C
- pH
- 6.3
Water profile
Soothing — neither hot nor cold, perfect balance.
Rich in active gases or metals — a strong mineral character.
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
In the remote high desert of Mono County, California — a landscape of ancient volcanic craters, obsidian flows, and alkaline lakes that stretches east of the Sierra Nevada — Alkali Hot Springs is a wild geothermal seep set within one of the most geologically striking environments in the American West. The area shares a volcanic heritage with the Mono-Inyo Craters chain, and its remoteness keeps visitor numbers low and the atmosphere genuinely untamed.
The water is iron-rich, stained a deep ochre-red by dissolved minerals, and flows at a comfortable 38 °C — warm rather than scalding, with a gentle enveloping heat. The mildly acidic pH of 6.3 reflects the mineral complexity of the source. Iron-bearing thermal water leaves a distinctive mineral imprint on the skin, and the rust-coloured deposits around the seep's edges create a striking visual signature. Soaking here, under a sky defined by volcanic silhouettes and the salt-bright expanse of Mono Basin, is an experience that belongs entirely to the raw geology of the eastern Sierra.