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How to go from desert to snow-capped mountains? Explore the wonderful terrain changes of the Great Basin!
The Great Basin, this water system area with no outlet to the sea, stretches across the western United States and is a magical and diverse land. From the deserts of Nevada to the snowy peaks of California, the region's topography is astonishing, displaying nature's art and recording the Earth's evolutionary history.
Definition and geographical location of the Great Basin
The name Great Basin was originally proposed by John C. Fremont, who verified the inland nature of this terrain through his exploration experience. The region's diversity ranges from the lowlands of the Badwater Basin to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, less than 160 kilometers away, displaying different ecosystems and topographic features.The Great Basin is considered the largest continuous waterway in North America, covering most of Nevada, most of Utah, and parts of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California.
Hydrological characteristics
The hydrology of the Great Basin is very unique. This 209,162-square-mile area was once an internal drainage area, with all precipitation eventually evaporating or flowing into some inland lake, such as the Salt Lake. The streams and rivers here do not flow into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, making the Great Basin's water systems particularly mysterious and unique.The longest and largest river in the Great Basin is the Bear River, which is 350 miles long, while the largest single drainage basin is the Humboldt River, which covers 17,000 square miles.
The rich diversity of ecosystems
The distribution of biological communities in this diverse land is extremely complex. The Great Basin includes a variety of deserts and ecoregions, each with unique plant and animal communities. The tropical Mojave Desert is in stark contrast to the cold High Basin Desert, with different altitudes and climates creating different ecosystems.At high altitudes, you can even find some rare plants whose unique genetic combinations evolved in the alpine environment during the Ice Age, allowing them to survive in these isolated mountains to this day.Animals here include antelope, deer, mountain lions, and other small mammals such as black-tailed jack rabbits and prairie rabbits.
The evolution of geological landscapes
The geological landscape of the Great Basin is mainly affected by the stretching and thinning of the upper mantle, forming a unique mountain basin topography. The mountains here run north-south and are lined with low valleys. Over geological time, sediments from different lakes gradually filled these depressions. For example, Lake Bonneville formed about 32,000 years ago and then underwent dramatic changes over a period of 14,500 years to become the salt lake it is today.Climate and Special Protection Areas
The climate of the Great Basin varies with elevation and is often semiarid or arid in character. Most of the precipitation in the area falls in heavy winter snow, so snow peaks can be seen in some mountainous areas of the area, while dry desert environments appear in the surrounding deserts.In addition to these natural wonders, there is also a long history of Aboriginal culture and European explorers intertwined here, becoming part of human civilization.The famous Great Basin National Park and Death Valley National Park are natural treasures in the area, attracting countless tourists to explore.
