Great Basin Ranges

The Great Basin is the vast dry region in the middle of the American west that does not drain to the ocean. Hydrographically, it has a precise definition in the same way as the drainage basins of rivers. But for the purposes of classifying mountain ranges, it can be thought of as the huge expanse bounded by the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades to the west, the Snake River plains to the north, the Wasatch Range of the Rockies and the Colorado Plateau to the south, and Mojave Desert and the Colorado River to the south.

This area includes 95% of Nevada, the entire western half of Utah, large chunks of Idaho and Oregon, plus pieces of California and Arizona. Nevada remains the heart of the Great Basin, though--no other large state is so dominated by one physiographic province and landform type.

The Great Basin is basin-and-range country par excellence, with literally hundreds and hundreds of relatively small parallel mountain ranges rising out of flat, parched sagebrush plains. Most ranges run north-south, and most are short fault block ranges.

Curiously, there is one Great Basin range rising above 14,000 feet, the White Mountains of California (14,246' at White Mountain Peak); one more rising above 13,000 feet, the Snake Range of Nevada (13,063' at Wheeler Peak); and one more rising above 12,000 feet, the Deep Creek Mountains of Utah (12,101' at Ibapah Peak). After those three, there are over 12 major ranges with summits in the 11,000 to 12,000 zone, including the Toquima Range, the Toyiabe Range, the Spring Mountains, the Schell Creek Range, and the Ruby Range. This site has a peak list showing the highest major ranges of the Great Basin that shows most of the important ranges, ordered by elevation.

Note: Range borders shown on map are an approximation and are not authoritative.
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