Ely experiences a semi-arid climate and consistently remains much cooler than southern Nevada. Our symposium dates in October should deliver a very pleasant surface temperature... but it's always wise to be prepared for anything!
The Western Climate Center reports that average October temperatures are a maximum of 65°F and a minimum of 28°F.
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. South wind around 5 mph.
Mostly sunny. High near 68, with temperatures falling to around 58 in the afternoon. South southwest wind 0 to 5 mph.
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. South wind around 10 mph.
Mostly clear, with a low around 35. South wind 10 to 20 mph.
Patchy blowing dust and a slight chance of rain between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of rain and patchy blowing dust. Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Rain likely and patchy blowing dust. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
A slight chance of rain before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
A slight chance of rain and snow after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.
A slight chance of rain and snow. Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.
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.
The official event schedule for the 2025 NCKMS has now been updated. Please check our schedule page or download a PDF to your mobile device.
The Great Basin National Heritage Area is the epitome of remote destinations with the Great Basin National Park, hundreds of miles of ATV trails, and numerous natural attractions. Explore the wide open spaces, travel uncrowded trails, and experience some of the darkest night skies in the country.
Next to the Lehman Caves Visitor Center sits the historic Rhodes Cabin. The cabin was built in the 1920s by Clarence and Bea Rhodes, who were US Forest Service custodians of Lehman Caves at the time. It is one of several cabins built to provide accommodations for visitors to Lehman Caves. Today it contains interpretive exhibits.
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.
Nevada's Lovelock Cave is one of the most important classic sites of the Great Basin archaeological record because conditions of the cave are conducive to the preservation of organic and inorganic material.
In 1911 two miners, David Pugh and James Hart, were hired to mine for bat guano from the cave. They removed a layer of guano estimated to be three to six feet deep and weighing about 250 tons. The miners were aware of the artifacts they were disturbing but, unfortunately, only the most interesting specimens were saved. Archaeologists were quickly alerted to the existence of the cave where they found 11 pre-historic duck decoys stored inside two woven baskets.
The cave was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1984. It was the first major cave in the Great Basin to be excavated.