Indian Wells Valley is an arid north-south basin in east-central California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley

Owens Valley

Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...

 to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range

Coso Range

The Coso Range of eastern California is located immediately south of Owens Lake , east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and west of the Argus Range. The southern part of the range lies in the restricted Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake...

 being the separator. It is defined by two major faults on both the east and west side of the valley, but unlike Owens Valley, it is bound by a third fault, the Garlock Fault

Garlock Fault

The Garlock Fault is a left-lateral strike-slip fault running approximately northeast-southwest in the Mojave Desert of southern California. It runs for much of its length along the southern base of the Tehachapi Mountains...

 (within the El Paso Mountains) to the south. This valley is part of the northwesternmost Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 plant community and ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

.
The largest city in the valley is Ridgecrest

Ridgecrest, California

Ridgecrest, formerly known as Crumville, was incorporated as a city in 1913. It is located in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, California, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake . Ridgecrest is the only incorporated city along US 395 in Kern County...

. Other locations include Inyokern

Inyokern, California

Inyokern is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Inyokern is located west of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 2434 feet . Located in the Indian Wells Valley. The population was 1,099 at the 2010 census, up from 984 at the 2000 census...

, Indian Wells

Indian Wells, Kern County, California

Indian Wells is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California.It is located west-northwest of Inyokern,on California State Route 14, at an elevation of 2759 feet ....

, and communities associated with the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, the primary industry in the valley. California State Route 14

California State Route 14

State Route 14 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, largely in the Mojave Desert. The southern portion of the highway is signed as the Antelope Valley Freeway. The route connects Interstate 5, or Golden State Freeway, near Santa Clarita and with U.S. Route 395 near...

 and US Highway 395 are the main transportation corridors through the valley.