Nevada's Great Basin region contains the most active geothermal field in North America. The same geomorphology that created the basin and range landscape has caused Earth's crust to be very thin in this area. This close proximity to subsurface magma pockets allows super-heated water to form hot springs across the region.
The information on this page should be used with care. Not all hot springs are really hot (some are just in the "warm" category.) Other springs can be scalding and physically dangerous. The information provided here is simply meant as a reference. Do your own research and proceed with caution!
Click on the following map icons to get more information about each hot spring. The locations marked with red stars tend to be the most popular and accessible. Locations marked with an orange dot 
have extended descriptions available. Locations with a blue dot 
only have geochemical data. Most of the minor locations haven't been field-checked in years, so do your own research before you head out. Not all hot springs are suitable for public soaking. Use your own discretion.
Cave ecosystems are often dependent on organic material carried in by water, which serves as the primary food source for the environment. In arid climates with minimal surface rainfall, the input of organic matter and nutrients into caves becomes limited, affecting the overall energy flow within these environments. The intricate interplay between surface conditions and cave biota presents unique management challenges for modern cave biologists. Image courtesy of Dr. Jean K. Krejca, Zara Environmental LLC.
Sitting at Nevada's eastern edge of the "Loneliest Road in America," Ely is a remote mountain town where history, art and outdoor adventure thrive. Ely was founded in the 1870s as a stagecoach stop and trading post called Murray Station, but it would become one of the country's major copper mining regions.
The Nevada Northern Railway arrived in 1906. Now, this well preserved short-line railway draws visitors from all over the world to ride on its queens of steam and historic diesel engines.
The Spirit Cave mummy is the oldest human mummy found in North America. It was discovered in 1940 in Spirit Cave, 13 miles east of Fallon, Nevada by the husband-and-wife archaeological team of Sydney and Georgia Wheeler.
The Wheelers, working for the Nevada State Parks Commission, were surveying possible archaeological sites to prevent their loss due to guano mining. Upon entering Spirit Cave they discovered the remains of two people wrapped in tule matting. One set of remains, buried deeper than the other, had been partially mummified (the head and right shoulder). The Wheelers, with the assistance of local residents, recovered a total of sixty-seven artifacts from the cave.
Troglodyte Playing Cards
We're not entirely sure what these will look like yet, but we couldn't think of hosting NCKMS in Nevada without offering some themed-out playing cards. There's a good chance the card backs will feature a cave critter of some kind, but we still have some time to figure it out.
