Nevada Geography: Basin, Range, and Desert

Nevada's geography is dominated by the Great Basin — a vast internal drainage region covering most of the state — and bookended by the Sierra Nevada on the west and the Colorado Plateau on the southeast.

Basin and Range Topography
Nevada has over 300 distinct mountain ranges, separated by equally numerous valleys — a corrugated landscape that runs roughly north-south across the state. Driving east from Reno, you cross range after range: Virginia Range, Shoshone Range, Monitor Range, Diamond Mountains, Ruby Mountains, and on into Utah. The valleys between ranges are broad, flat playas (ancient lake beds) at 4,000–6,000 feet elevation. Most of Nevada's rivers flow into these playas and evaporate — Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, and Ruby Lake are the remnants of much larger Pleistocene lakes.

Great Basin National Park Area
The Snake Range in eastern Nevada contains Nevada's highest terrain — Wheeler Peak (13,063 ft) rises above the valley floor of Spring Valley at 5,000 feet. The Snake Range's east face is one of the sharpest in Nevada; ancient bristlecone pines grow at 11,000 feet on the limestone slopes.

Mojave Desert (Southern Nevada)
The Las Vegas metro sits at the edge of the Mojave Desert — drier and hotter than the Great Basin. Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, and the Spring Mountains above Las Vegas are Mojave landscape features. The Mojave receives less than 5 inches of rain per year in some areas.

Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada
Nevada's western border follows the crest of the Sierra Nevada; Lake Tahoe straddles the Nevada-California state line. The eastern slope of the Sierra (the Nevada side) is drier and more abrupt than the California side — the rainshadow effect. Carson Valley and Eagle Valley below Carson City receive 10–12 inches of rain annually.

Black Rock Desert
The largest playa in North America — a 400-square-mile flat of cracked alkali clay north of Winnemucca. The Black Rock Desert is the site of the Burning Man festival and multiple land speed record attempts. The flat is so level it can be seen curving with the earth's curvature on clear days.