Jump to content

Great Basin Desert: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
northern boundary
Line 2: Line 2:
{{Geobox|Desert
{{Geobox|Desert
| parent = [[North American Desert]] ecoregion
| parent = [[North American Desert]] ecoregion
| parent_note =<ref>{{cite web |title=Level III Ecoregions |url=http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level%20III |publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency |accessdate=2015-07-07}}</ref>
| parent_note =<ref>{{cite web |title=Level I Ecoregions |url=http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level%20I |publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency |accessdate=2015-07-07}}</ref>
| border = [[Wasatch Range]] (east)<br>[[Mojave Desert]] (south)
| border = [[Wasatch Range]] (east)<br>[[Mojave Desert]] (south)
| image = [[File:Great Basin Ecoregions.jpg|thumb|Level III Ecoregions within the Great Basin Hydrographic Area.]].
| image = [[File:Great Basin Ecoregions.jpg|thumb|[http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level%20III Level III Ecoregions] within the Great Basin Hydrographic Area.]].
| country = United States
| country = United States
| country_flag = 1<!--
| country_flag = 1<!--
Line 20: Line 20:
[[File:Gb 600.jpg|thumbnail|left|Wheeler Peak is the highest point in Nevada's Great Basin Desert, rising from above the Spring Valley, foreground.]]
[[File:Gb 600.jpg|thumbnail|left|Wheeler Peak is the highest point in Nevada's Great Basin Desert, rising from above the Spring Valley, foreground.]]


The '''Great Basin Desert''' is the largest desert that lies completely within the US boundaries<ref name=Deserts>{{cite book |last1=Stoppato |first1=Marco | last2=Bini |first2=Alfredo |last3=Eklund | first3=Linda M. |year=2003 |title=Deserts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huiIlEFSVukC |isbn=1552976696 |publisher=Firefly Books | page=228}}</ref>{{efn | Stoppato, Bini and Eklund also stated that Great Basin Desert has an area of {{convert|190000|sqmi}}. The derivation of the number is unclear, although it can be found in many subsequent web sources. The number roughly corresponds with the combined area of the [[Central Basin and Range ecoregion | Central Basin and Range]] ({{convert |119,294.1 | sqmi}}) and [[Northern Basin and Range ecoregion | Northern Basin and Range]] ({{convert | 54,130.8 | sqmi}}) and the [[Snake River Plain (ecoregion) | Snake River Plain]] ecoregions}} It is a [[Desert climate#Cold desert climates|''cold'' desert]] caused by the [[rain shadow]] effect from the [[Sierra Nevada (US)|Sierra Nevada]] Range <ref name=NPS>[http://www.nps.gov/grba/naturescience/deserts.htm National Park Service, Great Basin National Park]</ref> that comprises its western border. It is also bordered by the [[Wasatch Range|Wasatch]] Range on the east, the [[Mojave Desert]] to the south.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rafferty |first=John P. |year=2011 |title=Deserts and Steppes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45htKs4GNi0C |isbn=1615303170 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group | page=118}}</ref> and the [[Snake River]] basin and [[Oregon High Desert]] to the north. Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from seven to twelve inches per year and the predominant flora are "continuous [[shadscale]] and…[[sagebrush]]."<ref>{{cite book |last=Trimble |first=Stephen |year=1999 |title=The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin |url=http://www.stephentrimble.net/books/Preface%20without%20notes.ASP |isbn=0-87417-343-4 |accessdate=2010-01-13}}</ref>
The '''Great Basin Desert''' is the largest desert that lies completely within the US boundaries<ref name=Deserts>{{cite book |last1=Stoppato |first1=Marco | last2=Bini |first2=Alfredo |last3=Eklund | first3=Linda M. |year=2003 |title=Deserts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huiIlEFSVukC |isbn=1552976696 |publisher=Firefly Books | page=228}}</ref>{{efn | Stoppato, Bini and Eklund also stated that Great Basin Desert has an area of {{convert|190000|sqmi}}. The derivation of the number is unclear, although it can be found in many subsequent web sources. The number roughly corresponds with the combined area of the [[Central Basin and Range ecoregion | Central Basin and Range]] ({{convert |119,294.1 | sqmi}}) and [[Northern Basin and Range ecoregion | Northern Basin and Range]] ({{convert | 54,130.8 | sqmi}}) and the [[Snake River Plain (ecoregion) | Snake River Plain]] ecoregions. That would correspond with the [http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level%20II Level II ecoregion on this map.}} It is a [[Desert climate#Cold desert climates|''cold'' desert]] caused by the [[rain shadow]] effect from the [[Sierra Nevada (US)|Sierra Nevada]] Range <ref name=NPS>[http://www.nps.gov/grba/naturescience/deserts.htm National Park Service, Great Basin National Park]</ref> that comprises its western border. It is also bordered by the [[Wasatch Range|Wasatch]] Range on the east and the [[Mojave Desert]] to the south.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rafferty |first=John P. |year=2011 |title=Deserts and Steppes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=45htKs4GNi0C |isbn=1615303170 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group | page=118}}</ref>. {{efn | The northern boundary of the Great Basin Desert varies from source to source. It is most commonly stated to be the [[Columbia Plateau]], which would leave both the western and northern borders incomplete. To be consistent with the [[List of North American deserts]], the Great Basin desert would not include the [[Snake River Plain (ecoregion)]] nor the [[Oregon High Desert | Oregon High]] or the [[Owyhee Deserts | Owyhee]] deserts, which make up most of the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion.}} Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from seven to twelve inches per year and the predominant flora are "continuous [[shadscale]] and…[[sagebrush]]."<ref>{{cite book |last=Trimble |first=Stephen |year=1999 |title=The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin |url=http://www.stephentrimble.net/books/Preface%20without%20notes.ASP |isbn=0-87417-343-4 |accessdate=2010-01-13}}</ref>


The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks [[creosote bush]]" as defined by J. Robert Macey in a 1986 report distinguishing between "Great Basin scrub desert" and "creosote bush desert."<ref name=Macey/> The Great Basin Desert includes several arid basins lacking ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (chaparral) such as the "[[Chalfant Valley|Chalfant]], Hammil, Benton, and [[Queen Valley|Queen]] valleys," as well as all but the southeast portion of the [[Owens Valley]]. Conversely, the "[[Panamint Valley|Panamint]], [[Saline Valley|Saline]], and [[Eureka Valley (Inyo County)|Eureka]] valleys" have creosote bush, unlike the [[Deep Springs Valley]] which includes part of the Great Basin scrub desert.<ref name=Macey>{{Cite report |last=Macey |first=J. Robert |date=May 28, 1986 |title=The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transition Between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts |url=http://www.wmrc.edu/resources/docs/ch16.pdf |accessdate=2011-11-22 |quote=''Banta & Tanner (1964) felt that the Great Basin {{sic|Desert}} deserved recognition…and defined it…as the interior drainage lying between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. For the purpose of this study, I am defining the Great Basin Desert as the high elevation desert that lacks Creosote Bush.''}}--versus the region(s) with <{{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}} annual precipitation. '''NOTE''': The term "Great Basin Desert" does not appear in the 1964 [[Great Basin]] report by Banta and Tanner:
The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks [[creosote bush]]" as defined by J. Robert Macey in a 1986 report distinguishing between "Great Basin scrub desert" and "creosote bush desert."<ref name=Macey/> The Great Basin Desert includes several arid basins lacking ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (chaparral) such as the "[[Chalfant Valley|Chalfant]], Hammil, Benton, and [[Queen Valley|Queen]] valleys," as well as all but the southeast portion of the [[Owens Valley]]. Conversely, the "[[Panamint Valley|Panamint]], [[Saline Valley|Saline]], and [[Eureka Valley (Inyo County)|Eureka]] valleys" have creosote bush, unlike the [[Deep Springs Valley]] which includes part of the Great Basin scrub desert.<ref name=Macey>{{Cite report |last=Macey |first=J. Robert |date=May 28, 1986 |title=The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transition Between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts |url=http://www.wmrc.edu/resources/docs/ch16.pdf |accessdate=2011-11-22 |quote=''Banta & Tanner (1964) felt that the Great Basin {{sic|Desert}} deserved recognition…and defined it…as the interior drainage lying between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. For the purpose of this study, I am defining the Great Basin Desert as the high elevation desert that lacks Creosote Bush.''}}--versus the region(s) with <{{convert|10|in|mm|abbr=on}} annual precipitation. '''NOTE''': The term "Great Basin Desert" does not appear in the 1964 [[Great Basin]] report by Banta and Tanner:

Revision as of 13:37, 11 July 2015

For the list of valleys with Salt Desert and Tonopah Playa ecoregions, see Central Basin and Range ecoregion. For other deserts, see List of North American deserts.

Template:Geobox

Wheeler Peak is the highest point in Nevada's Great Basin Desert, rising from above the Spring Valley, foreground.

The Great Basin Desert is the largest desert that lies completely within the US boundaries[1][a] It is a cold desert caused by the rain shadow effect from the Sierra Nevada Range [2] that comprises its western border. It is also bordered by the Wasatch Range on the east and the Mojave Desert to the south.[3]. [b] Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from seven to twelve inches per year and the predominant flora are "continuous shadscale and…sagebrush."[4]

The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks creosote bush" as defined by J. Robert Macey in a 1986 report distinguishing between "Great Basin scrub desert" and "creosote bush desert."[5] The Great Basin Desert includes several arid basins lacking Larrea tridentata (chaparral) such as the "Chalfant, Hammil, Benton, and Queen valleys," as well as all but the southeast portion of the Owens Valley. Conversely, the "Panamint, Saline, and Eureka valleys" have creosote bush, unlike the Deep Springs Valley which includes part of the Great Basin scrub desert.[5]

The ecotone demarcating the north of the Mojave Desert is the edge of creosote bush habitat and is also the south demarcation of the Great Basin shrub steppe and Central Basin and Range ecoregions.[5] The ecotone is established by elevation increase, temperature decrease at higher elevations, and rainfall (less rain shadow at higher latitudes).[5]

See also

Great Basin National Park

References

  1. ^ Stoppato, Marco; Bini, Alfredo; Eklund, Linda M. (2003). Deserts. Firefly Books. p. 228. ISBN 1552976696.
  2. ^ National Park Service, Great Basin National Park
  3. ^ Rafferty, John P. (2011). Deserts and Steppes. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 118. ISBN 1615303170.
  4. ^ Trimble, Stephen (1999). The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin. ISBN 0-87417-343-4. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Macey, J. Robert (May 28, 1986). The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transition Between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 2011-11-22. Banta & Tanner (1964) felt that the Great Basin Desert [sic] deserved recognition…and defined it…as the interior drainage lying between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. For the purpose of this study, I am defining the Great Basin Desert as the high elevation desert that lacks Creosote Bush.--versus the region(s) with <10 in (250 mm) annual precipitation. NOTE: The term "Great Basin Desert" does not appear in the 1964 Great Basin report by Banta and Tanner:

Notes

  1. ^ Stoppato, Bini and Eklund also stated that Great Basin Desert has an area of 190,000 square miles (490,000 km2). The derivation of the number is unclear, although it can be found in many subsequent web sources. The number roughly corresponds with the combined area of the Central Basin and Range (119,294.1 square miles (308,970 km2)) and Northern Basin and Range (54,130.8 square miles (140,198 km2)) and the Snake River Plain ecoregions. That would correspond with the [http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level%20II Level II ecoregion on this map.
  2. ^ The northern boundary of the Great Basin Desert varies from source to source. It is most commonly stated to be the Columbia Plateau, which would leave both the western and northern borders incomplete. To be consistent with the List of North American deserts, the Great Basin desert would not include the Snake River Plain (ecoregion) nor the Oregon High or the Owyhee deserts, which make up most of the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Basin_Desert&oldid=670969855"