Mountains in Great Basin National Park
Located in central Nevada in the Snake Mountains, Great Basin National Park is one of America’s newest parks. In 1986, President Regan set aside 77,180 wildness acres as a national park. This acreage also included Lehman Caves, which had already been designated a national monument in 1922.
True to its name, the Great Basin holds in all precipitation from snow melt to rain, preventing it from draining to the ocean. Water then finds its way into underground aquifers or evaporates over time. The park is a study in contrasts. Visitors can explore the dry desert, Lehman Caves and Nevada’s only glacier – a survivor from the ice age – at the base of 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak. Plus, you can see some of the world’s oldest living things – bristlecone pines – growing on mountains above 10,000 feet.
