Great Basin Desert
Encyclopedia
The Great Basin Desert is an area of nearctic
high desert
s across parts of Nevada
, California
, and Utah
that extends into the Colorado River
watershed (Clark & Lincoln counties on the southeast), but which is mostly a portion of the central Nevada desert basins of the Great Basin
.
It along with the Escalante Desert
, Mohave Desert, the Chihuahuan Desert
, and the Sonoran Desert
are the five deserts of the United States. The latter three are more typical hot deserts, whereas the Great Basin Desert is a cold desert. It owes its existence to the rain shadow
effect of the Sierra Nevada
to the west. The predominant flora are mostly of the Atriplex
genus (lowest elevations) and sagebrush
(higher) (shadscale is also common).
A transition zone between the Great Basin Desert and the Mohave Dessert has been observed in the valleys adacent to the Inyo Mountains
and the White Mountains
of California. The presence or absence of creosote bush is seen as an indicator. The creosote bush is present in the lower valleys of the Mohave, but absent in the generally higher and colder valleys of the Great Basin Desert. (Central Basin and Range basins and valleys variously have sagebrush
, salt shrub, and shadscale.) Owens Valley
is a transitional with creosote bush only occurring on the eastern portions of the valley. Three factors control the change: elevation increase, temperature and rainfall. Temperature decrease in the valleys of the Great Basin result from the increase in elevation and the more northerly position. Precipitation increases to the north in part due to the lower crests of the Sierra Nevada which reduces the rain shadow effect slightly.
Great Basin National Park
is located in the Great Basin Desert.
of Nevada
. The salt deserts are generally surrounded by Shadscale-Dominated Saline Basins
.
Nearctic
The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...
high desert
High desert
High desert refers to the inland and often high elevation deserts of the American West. Examples of high deserts in North America include the Great Basin Desert and the Mojave Desert.High desert can also mean:...
s across parts of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
that extends into the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
watershed (Clark & Lincoln counties on the southeast), but which is mostly a portion of the central Nevada desert basins of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
.
It along with the Escalante Desert
Escalante Desert
The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome, located in southwestern Utah.-Geography:...
, Mohave Desert, the Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert, and an ecoregion designation, that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra...
, and the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
are the five deserts of the United States. The latter three are more typical hot deserts, whereas the Great Basin Desert is a cold desert. It owes its existence to the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
effect of the Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada (US)
The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, between the California Central Valley and the Basin and Range Province. The Sierra runs north-to-south, and is approximately across east-to-west...
to the west. The predominant flora are mostly of the Atriplex
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
genus (lowest elevations) and sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
(higher) (shadscale is also common).
A transition zone between the Great Basin Desert and the Mohave Dessert has been observed in the valleys adacent to the Inyo Mountains
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...
and the White Mountains
White Mountains (California)
The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...
of California. The presence or absence of creosote bush is seen as an indicator. The creosote bush is present in the lower valleys of the Mohave, but absent in the generally higher and colder valleys of the Great Basin Desert. (Central Basin and Range basins and valleys variously have sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, salt shrub, and shadscale.) Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
is a transitional with creosote bush only occurring on the eastern portions of the valley. Three factors control the change: elevation increase, temperature and rainfall. Temperature decrease in the valleys of the Great Basin result from the increase in elevation and the more northerly position. Precipitation increases to the north in part due to the lower crests of the Sierra Nevada which reduces the rain shadow effect slightly.
Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park is a United States National Park established in 1986, located in east-central Nevada near the Utah border. The park derives its name from the Great Basin, the dry and mountainous region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains. Topographically, this area is...
is located in the Great Basin Desert.
Salt deserts of the Central Basin and Range ecoregion
Salt deserts within an area between 41°N and 37.5°N latitude are 19 basin areas within the Central Basin and Range ecoregionCentral Basin and Range ecoregion
The Central Basin and Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with 26 different Level IV ecoregions...
of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. The salt deserts are generally surrounded by Shadscale-Dominated Saline Basins
Great Basin shrub steppe
The Great Basin shrub steppe ecoregion, within the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome, includes various xeric shrub-steppe sub-ecoregions in the Great Basin region of the Western United States.It is within the North American Desert region, and includes much of Nevada, eastern and northeastern...
.