Great Basin Desert: Difference between revisions
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''For other United States deserts see [[Chihuahuan Desert]], [[Escalante Desert]], [[Mojave Desert]], [[Painted Desert, Arizona|Painted Desert]], [[Red Desert (Wyoming)|Red Desert]], and [[Sonoran Desert]]'' |
''For other United States deserts see [[Chihuahuan Desert]], [[Escalante Desert]], [[Mojave Desert]], [[Painted Desert, Arizona|Painted Desert]], [[Red Desert (Wyoming)|Red Desert]], and [[Sonoran Desert]]'' |
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The '''Great Basin Desert''' is the largest U. S. desert{fact}, covering 190,000 square miles. It is bordered by the Sierra Nevada Range on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east, the Columbia Plateau to the north and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts to the south. The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks Creosote Bush" and was defined for the purposes of a 1986 report by J. Robert Macey who distinguished "Great Basin Scrub desert" versus "Creosote Bush desert".<ref name=Macey/> Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from 7 - 12 inches of rainfall per annum, and includes several arid basins without ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (chaparral) such as the "[[Chalfant Valley|Chalfant]], [[Hammil Valley|Hammil]], [[Benton Valley|Benton]] and [[Queen Valley|Queen]] valleys", as well as all but a southeast portion of the [[Owens Valley]]. Conversely, the "[[Panamint Valley|Panamint]], [[Saline Valley|Saline]], and [[Eureka Valley (Inyo County)|Eureka]] valleys" contain Creosote Bush, versus the [[Deep Springs Valley]] which contains Great Basin Scrub desert.<ref name=Macey>{{Cite report |last=Macey |first=J. Robert |date=May 28, 1986 |title=The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transision Between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts |url=http://www.wmrs.edu/resources/reference%20documents/Natural%20History%20of%20the%20White%20Mountains/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''' is the largest U. S. desert{{fact}}, covering 190,000 square miles. It is bordered by the Sierra Nevada Range on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east, the Columbia Plateau to the north and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts to the south. The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks Creosote Bush" and was defined for the purposes of a 1986 report by J. Robert Macey who distinguished "Great Basin Scrub desert" versus "Creosote Bush desert".<ref name=Macey/> Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from 7 - 12 inches of rainfall per annum, and includes several arid basins without ''[[Larrea tridentata]]'' (chaparral) such as the "[[Chalfant Valley|Chalfant]], [[Hammil Valley|Hammil]], [[Benton Valley|Benton]] and [[Queen Valley|Queen]] valleys", as well as all but a southeast portion of the [[Owens Valley]]. Conversely, the "[[Panamint Valley|Panamint]], [[Saline Valley|Saline]], and [[Eureka Valley (Inyo County)|Eureka]] valleys" contain Creosote Bush, versus the [[Deep Springs Valley]] which contains Great Basin Scrub desert.<ref name=Macey>{{Cite report |last=Macey |first=J. Robert |date=May 28, 1986 |title=The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transision Between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts |url=http://www.wmrs.edu/resources/reference%20documents/Natural%20History%20of%20the%20White%20Mountains/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: |
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*{{Cite journal |last1=Banta |first1=Benjamin H. |last2=Tanner |first2=Benjamin H. Banta |date=June 11, 1964 |title=…Herpetological Studies in the Great Basin… |url=http://biostor.org/reference/1233 |format=Biostor.org viewer |journal=The Great Basin Naturalist |accessdate=2011-11-22}}</ref> |
*{{Cite journal |last1=Banta |first1=Benjamin H. |last2=Tanner |first2=Benjamin H. Banta |date=June 11, 1964 |title=…Herpetological Studies in the Great Basin… |url=http://biostor.org/reference/1233 |format=Biostor.org viewer |journal=The Great Basin Naturalist |accessdate=2011-11-22}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 07:12, 19 December 2012
Template:Geobox For other United States deserts see Chihuahuan Desert, Escalante Desert, Mojave Desert, Painted Desert, Red Desert, and Sonoran Desert
The Great Basin Desert is the largest U. S. desert[citation needed], covering 190,000 square miles. It is bordered by the Sierra Nevada Range on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east, the Columbia Plateau to the north and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts to the south. The Great Basin Desert, unlike the Mojave or Sonora deserts, characteristically "lacks Creosote Bush" and was defined for the purposes of a 1986 report by J. Robert Macey who distinguished "Great Basin Scrub desert" versus "Creosote Bush desert".[1] Rainfall within the Great Basin Desert region varies from 7 - 12 inches of rainfall per annum, and includes several arid basins without Larrea tridentata (chaparral) such as the "Chalfant, Hammil, Benton and Queen valleys", as well as all but a southeast portion of the Owens Valley. Conversely, the "Panamint, Saline, and Eureka valleys" contain Creosote Bush, versus the Deep Springs Valley which contains Great Basin Scrub desert.[1]
The Great Basin Desert is a cold desert caused by the rain shadow effect of the Sierra Nevada to the west.[2] The predominant flora are "continuous shadscale and…sagebrush".[3]
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.[1] The ecotone is established by elevation increase, temperature decrease at higher elevations, and rainfall (less rain shadow at higher latitudes).[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Macey, J. Robert (May 28, 1986). The Biogeography of a Herpetofaunal Transision 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:- Banta, Benjamin H.; Tanner, Benjamin H. Banta (June 11, 1964). "…Herpetological Studies in the Great Basin…" (Biostor.org viewer). The Great Basin Naturalist. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ National Park Service, Great Basin National Park
- ^ Trimble, Stephen (1999). The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin. ISBN 0-87417-343-4. Retrieved 2010-01-13.