Re: 5 Palms Warm Springs

Thanks for the report Sam. I go to Five Palms all the time in the winter, spring, and fall. I always pick up trash when I'm there, but usually its pretty clean. I rarely have seen broken glass there. It probably came from the bad people at Glamis who come and trash the springs.

I've never received a ticket there, in fact, the BLM rangers are friendly and don't care if people go nude there. I've never worn a suit there, Possibly you mean the Imperial County Sheriff. They do ticket, but rarely come to the springs.

The spring has an interesting history. During World War 2, General Patton utilized a lot of the desert in this area for tank training. There were temporary barracks set up near the spring, and Patton needed water for the tanks and the troops.So he sunk the wellhead down several hundred feet and got the warm water instead of cold. The original metal wellhead was in the middle of the spring until it rusted out about 10 years ago. Local folks from Brawley replaced the top part of the pipe with the relatively new pipe you saw there on your visit. Several cement blocks, stones, and cement, sealed it several feet down. The water has cooled down over time. For years, it was a consistent 93 degrees , but is now a bit cooler. There have been some small earthquakes in the area, and this tectonic activity has affected the springs.

As you discovered, there are mines all over the place left behind by Patton. Although I was in the military, I don't have mine knowledge, but nevertheless, be careful. If you can post some pics of that mine, I may be able to find out.