Saline Valley is a large, deep, and arid graben, about in length, in the northern Mojave Desert of California, a narrow, northwest–southeast-trending tectonic sink defined by fault-block mountains. Most of it became a part of Death Valley National Park when the park was expanded in 1994. This area had previously been administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located northwest of Death Valley proper, south of Eureka Valley, and east of the Owens Valley. The valley's lowest elevations are about and it lies in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada range, plus the Inyo Mountains bordering the valley on the west. Natural features A large dry lake occupies the center of the valley. The west end of the lake supports a salt marsh, which contains a variety of plant and animal life. The marsh is fed by a perennial stream from Hunter Canyon. North of the lake is a large area of low and sweeping sand dunes. There are a number of hot springs in the northeast corner of the valley. The water temperature at the source of these springs averages at 107 °F (42 °C). Saline Valley's three main warm springs are reached by a primary road known as the Warm Springs Road or Painted Rock Road. Lower Warm Springs is the largest, most developed, and most popular dispersed camping area. Palm Spring is smaller and less crowded with great views of Saline Valley and the source feeds two tubs known as Wizard Pool and Volcano Pool. Upper Warm Spring, the smallest and least disturbed of the main springs, is a deep pool of lukewarm azure water surrounded by cattail, arrow-weed, and grasses, in full view of the Saline Range. Saline Valley is a closed or endorheic basin. If filled with water it would be over 4000 feet (1200 m) deep, form a lake with a surface area of roughly 500 square miles (1,300 km2), and hold approximately of water. History Saline Valley was inhabited in late prehistoric times by the Ko'ongkatün Band of Timbisha Shoshone (also known as Panamint or Koso). One of their principal villages was known as Ko'on and located in Saline Valley, therefore the valley was named after the village and known as Ko'ongkatün (Ko'on + kantün - "possessing, characterized by" the village Ko'on) or simply Ko'on. The Timbisha Shoshone living at Ko'on were called Ko'ontsi (″People of the village Ko'on"). The