Eastern California Museum

Owens Valley (Mono: Payahǖǖnadǖ, meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains, and is split between the Great Basin Desert and the Mojave Desert. The mountain peaks on its west side (including Mount Whitney) reach above 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in elevation, while the floor of the Owens Valley is at about 4,000 feet (1,200 m), making the valley the deepest in the United States. The Sierra Nevada casts the valley in a rain shadow, which makes Owens Valley "the Land of Little Rain". The bed of Owens Lake, now a predominantly dry endorheic alkali flat, sits on the southern end of the valley. The current arid nature of the valley is mostly due to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power diverting the water of the region. The valley provides water to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the source of one-third of the water for the city, and was at the center of one of the fiercest and longest-running episodes of the California Water Wars. Owens Lake was completely emptied by 1926, only 13 years after Los Angeles began diverting water. The water diversions inspired aspects of the 1974 film Chinatown. Towns in the Owens Valley include Bishop, Lone Pine, Independence and Big Pine; about 25,000 people live in the valley. The major road in the Owens Valley is U.S. Route 395.

The Inyo County Courthouse, on N. Edwards St. in Independence, California, was designed by architect William H. Weeks in Classical Revival style, and was built in 1922. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. It is significant for association with "economic and political development" of the Owens Valley and for housing county government during 1921–1947. It is the only example of "monumental, Neo-Classical Revival architecture" in the Owens Valley area. According to its NRHP nomination "This elaborately designed building represents the peak of local autonomy in the Owens Valley, before the City of Los Angeles purchased the majority of land in the valley, including most of the land within the county seat. Water development policies adopted by the City of Los Angeles after 1924 led ultimately to the destruction of irrigated agriculture, and the virtual depopulation of the Owens Valley." The courthouse cornerstone was laid down in 1922. It was the fourth courthouse of the county, and replaced a version that was too small and was torn down after the present courthouse was built. Weeks was very experienced as an architect; he had designed more than 1,000 buildings already by 1915. Charles Manson was held at the Inyo County Court House in October of 1969. 23 members of his Manson Family were also held at the Inyo County Courthouse from October to December in 1969. Manson and others were officially charged with the Tate and LaBianca murders before being transported to Los Angeles County. A 2009 feasibility study for the building of new courthouse facilities identifies the building as inadequate for modern purposes, being deficient in terms of security and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility. It notes the court has been obliged to offer court services in leased annex space a half-mile away, to provide a minimally ADA accessible location for some court proceedings. A facilities planning site of the state of California identifies the potential project as having authorization to proceed with site acquisition, but no budget for development until at least 2014–15.

Independence Airport (FAA LID: 2O7) is a public airport located one mile (1.6 km) north of Independence, serving Inyo County, California, United States. It has two runways and is mostly used for general aviation. The airport is a base for the Bureau of Land Management when fighting wildfires in the Eastern Sierra.

The Internationally Acclaimed Fruitcake Festival (also known as the Independence Fruitcake Festival) is an annual event that takes place at Independence, California , each December. The event centers around the seasonal fruitcake, and it has been described by the Ridgecrest Daily Independent as "a full-scale celebration of the holiday staple that is both tongue-in-cheek and very serious."

Independence is an unincorporated census-designated place in and the county seat of Inyo County, California. Independence is located 41 miles (66 km) south-southeast of Bishop, at an elevation of 3930 feet (1198 m). The population of this census-designated place was 593 at the 2020 census, down from 669 at the 2010 census.

Oak Creek is a tributary stream of the Owens River, in Inyo County, California. Its mouth lies at an elevation of 3,924 feet / 1,196 meters, 2.2 miles north northwest of Independence, California, just south of the Fort Independence Reservation. Its source is to the west at the foot of the Sierra Nevada at the confluence of South Fork Oak Creek and North Fork Oak Creek at 36°49′57″N 118°15′05″W at an elevation of 4,380 feet / 1,335 meters.

Fort Independence, originally named Camp Independence, was a fort located in the Owens Valley, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of present-day Independence, Inyo County, eastern California. The U.S. Army post was active from 1862 to 1877.

The Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Mono and Timbisha in the Owens Valley, in Inyo County, eastern California. As of the 2010 census the population was 93.

The Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery, located in Independence, California, United States, is an historic fish hatchery that has played an important role in the preservation of the golden trout, California's freshwater state fish.

Bend City is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was located on the Owens River near the modern-day town of Kearsarge. Founded in the 1863, Bend City was originally a mining camp. Bend City was the site of the first county bridge spanning the Owens River. The 1872 Lone Pine earthquake changed the course of the river away from the townsite, which had already declined. The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #209.

Gabanes is a village located in the Valle de Tobalina, Provincia de Burgos, Castilla y León, Spain. It is one of the 28 villages that make up the Polish Valley.

San Carlos is a former settlement in Inyo County, California. It was founded in 1863 and was located on the east bank of the Owens River 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Independence, close by to the west of the later site of Kearsarge, California. Tensions in the area escalated as settlers from San Carlos, along with their cattle, exerted pressure on the Indigenous peoples inhabiting the region. In response to this encroachment on their land and resources, the Indigenous population took defensive actions, which included attacks on the town's residents. San Carlos and nearby Bend City competed to become the seat of the then Coso County. Several artifacts remain of San Carlos, including the ruins of stone buildings as well as old smelting tools.