Most of what is called the desert here really
isn't. The geomorphic province which encompasses most of what is termed
"high desert" in North America is the Great Basin, which includes
all of Nevada and parts of California, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. It is a
sparsely-populated area which is assumed by most to be devoid of life and
unsuitable for visitation (most of us who know better would probably like
it kept that way, for much of the lure of the High Desert is the solitude
it affords). It is in fact a land of indescribable beauty and endless suprises.
For the geologist it is heaven, and in this respect I may be
biased; but I've spent many days in the Great Basin paying more attention
to the flora, fauna, and overall scenery than to the rocks.
For information on Great Basin travel, buy John Hart's "Hiking the
Great Basin," available from the Sierra Club. It is an indespensable
guide for the Great Basin explorer, and has information on almost every
area of interest to the Great Basin newcomer (although he has left out some
of the most spectacular areas in Nevada- perhaps he wanted them kept secret?).
For an excellent look at all of the places to go in the Great Basin, visit Exploring the Great Basin. |
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Pyramid Lake - Pyramid Lake is a remnant of the now extinct Pleistocene Lake Lahontan, which covered most of northern Nevada during the Ice Ages. The strange rock formations in the photo are tufa, created as mineral-bearing spring water reacted with the saline water in Lake Lahontan to form calcium carbonate. Some of the tufa towers here are hundreds of feet high. The lake lies on Indian land, and a permit is required to visit the area. |
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The Pyramid - Pyramid Lake once was one of the greatest fisheries in the world. Lahontan cutthrout trout here attained sizes of up to thirty pounds, and ran up the Truckee River to spawn. Overfishing, pollution, and damming of the Truckee River at Derby Dam in the early 1900s rendered this species all but extinct. The fish do still exist in these waters, thanks to the artificial propogation efforts of the Paiute Indians, but water demands placed on the Truckee River are raising the alkalinity levels of the lake, and it may be only a matter of time before Pyramid Lake is no longer able to sustain fish life. |
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Lamoille Lake - Located in the head of Lamoille Canyon in the Ruby
Mountains, this glacial tarn is the last thing you'd expect to find in the
parched wasteland that the Great Basin is often made out to be. The rubies
are deeply glaciated and contain several such lakes. |
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The Ruby Mountains - View east from just outside the town of Elko
(one of the most rapidly growing cities in Nevada- I dread to one day see
condos springing up on the flanks of the range itself) showing the range's
precipitously glaciated nature. This is the mouth of Lamoille canyon, the
Yosemite Valley of eastern Nevada. Although the canyon itself is extremely
crowded, the inverse square law applies to that population at any distance
from the road, and hikers are nearly nonexistent a few miles from the trailhead. |
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Wheeler Peak - Another glaciated Nevadan treasure, Wheeler Peak (13,063
feet, second highest peak in Nevada) lies in the Snake Range in the heart
of Great Basin
National Park in eastern Nevada. A paved road takes one within an easy
day's reach of the summit. This photo was taken a few miles from the trailhead.
Mount Moriah to the north provides a greater wilderness experience and relief
from the crowds found here. |
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White Mountain Peak - At the southern end of one of the most forbidding,
inaccesible wilderness areas in the Great Basin, the summit of White Mountain (at
14,248 feet, 5th highest point in the contiguous US) is easily accessible
from a fairly good dirt road leading to 12,470 feet. The Barcroft Lab (part
of the White Mountain Research Station)
is located at the trailhead. |
