Great Basin

Large arid region of the western USA, which includes nearly all Nevada, Utah, and parts of Oregon and California, and lies between the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California on the west and the Wasatch Mountains on the east. The Great Basin National Park was established in 1986.

Features Mountains run from north to south of the area, and rise to a height of 1,220 m/4,003 ft above the plateau. The soil is fertile where irrigation is possible, but the hills are barren. It has numerous lakes, including the Great Salt Lake, Lake Utah, Lake Sevier, Lake Walker, and Lake Carson, and is a basin of inland drainage (the watercourses drain into desert flats, not the sea). The mountains are rich in minerals, especially silver ore.

The Great Basin National Park, Nevada's sole national park, has an area of 312 sq km/121 sq mi. It has a stand of bristlecone pines, the oldest living trees in the world, with some specimens more than 4,000 years old. Lehman Caves form an extensive area of limestone caves.