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

In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator.

The valley is part of California's South Lahontan hydrologic region.

[1] Owens Peak, located west of the Indian Wells Valley, overlooks the basin from the west at 8,452 feet, making it the tallest peak in the southern Sierra Nevada range.

[3][1] Indian Wells Valley is located in the northwesternmost part of the Mojave Desert plant community and ecoregion, receiving just 4-6 inches of precipitation a year.