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.
Areas of blowing dust. Sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 25 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph.
Areas of blowing dust before 5am. Mostly clear, with a low around 47. South wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
Patchy blowing dust after 11am. Sunny, with a high near 81. South wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
Patchy blowing dust before 5am. Mostly clear, with a low around 48. South wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
Areas of blowing dust and isolated rain showers between 11am and 2pm, then areas of blowing dust and isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. South wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph.
Areas of blowing dust and scattered rain showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Isolated rain showers before 11am. Sunny, with a high near 76.
Mostly clear, with a low around 42.
Sunny, with a high near 81.
Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Scattered rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
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.
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.
2025 NCKMS T-Shirts
Of course we'll have t-shirts! What would a caver event be without them?
It might look like this thing that an AI system suggested, but we're having real humans dress it up a bit. Might look completely different by the time our humans are done with it.
Our theme at NCKMS this year is "Hidden Waters - Hidden Life". So, we have a concept at least!
Ely, Nevada's White Pine Public Museum features the skeletal model of a cave bear (Arctodus simus) that was discovered in a nearby cave in 1982. This extinct species inhabited North America during the Pleistocene epoch from about 1.8 Mya until 11,000 years ago. It was the most common early North American bear and is considered one of the largest known terrestrial mammalian carnivores.
The museum's collections also include an extensive mineral display of copper ore samples, petrified woods, and fossils of ancient marine life.