An endorheic basin is defined as a region in which the river network is completely isolated from the world ocean: the water flowing in the rivers never reaches the sea. Overexploitation of these finite hyrdologic resources poses significant challenges for cave managers in the arid west. Graphic by Kmusser at Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Read MoreThe Great Basin is characterized by numerous arid to semi-arid basins with unconsolidated alluvial aquifers separated by mountain ranges often comprised of carbonate aquifers. Population is concentrated within 100 miles of Salt Lake City and in the Las Vegas area and is growing rapidly. In the less populated areas, ranching, mining, and irrigated farming are the main economies.
Defining the Great Basin begins with a choice: are you looking at the way the water flows (hydrographic), the way the landscape formed (geologic), or the resident plants and animals (biologic)? Each of these definitions will give you a slightly different geographic boundary of the Great Basin, but the hydrographic definition is the most commonly used.
The Hydrographic Great Basin is a 200,000 square mile area that drains internally. All precipitation in the region evaporates, sinks underground or flows into lakes (mostly saline). Creeks, streams, or rivers find no outlet to either the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. The region is bounded by the Wasatch Mountains to the east, the Sierra Nevada to the west, and the Snake River Plain to the north. The south rim is less distinct. The Great Basin includes most of Nevada, half of Utah, and sections of Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and California. The term "Great Basin" is slightly misleading; the region is actually made up of many small basins. The Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake, and the Humboldt Sink are a few of the "drains" in the Great Basin.
The Basin and Range region is the product of geological forces stretching the earth's crust, creating many north-south trending mountain ranges. These ranges are separated by flat valleys or basins. These hundreds of ranges make Nevada the most mountainous state in the country.
The Great Basin Desert is defined by plant and animal communities. The climate is affected by the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. It is a temperate desert with hot, dry summers and snowy winters. The valleys are dominated by sagebrush and shadescale. The biologic communities on the mountain ranges differ with elevation, and the individual ranges act as islands isolated by seas of desert vegetation. Because the Great Basin exhibits such drastic elevation changes from its valleys to its peaks, the region supports an impressive diversity of species, from those adapted to the desert to those adapted to forest and alpine environments.
Great Basin National Park preserves a small representative piece of this entire region.
In July of 1986, Life magazine dubbed Nevada's Highway 50 the "Loneliest Road in America." The article claimed there were "no points of interest" along the route and "warned" readers not to risk traveling it unless they were confident of their survival skills. However, Nevada adventurers knew better then - and still do. Sure, a road doesn't get much more wide-open than Highway 50. But that's exactly why we dig it!
Isolated snow showers between 2pm and 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. North wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. New snow accumulation of less than half an inch possible.
Mostly clear, with a low around 18. North wind 10 to 20 mph.
Sunny, with a high near 59. North northwest wind around 10 mph.
One of the major ecological threats to the sagebrush-dominated Great Basin ecosystem is the introduction and spread of dozens of species of non-native plants. The most important of these, cheatgrass (or downy brome) covers the largest area: 25 million acres, one-third of the area of the Great Basin.
Troglodyte Playing Cards
We have no idea 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 animal of the year, but we still have some time to figure it out.
Registration for the 2025 symposium has been briefly delayed as we try to interpret the impact global tariffs will have on our financial model. A lot of items we purchase for the conference are sourced from international markets (convention bags, merchandise, etc.) We should have this figured out in the next few days and will send an email to past attendees when that system comes online.
Feel free to join our mailing list if you would like to receive occasional updates on our plans.