Talk:Great Basin

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    [edit] Map

    The map on this page shows a Great Basin Smaller than it actually is. Someone should show replace the map.

    Richard knrstauch@msn.com

    [edit] information on great basin

    The map should also show political boundaries. It is difficult to get a decent idea of where, in a human sense, the Great Basin is from the current map. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.6.59.166 (talk • contribs) .

    I agree a map of the Great Basin with political boundaries would be useful, although I think this would work better on a close-up than on the full map of North America. -- Avenue 23:50, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Flora and Fauna

    The animals listed as uncommon are actually quite common. Pronghorn antelope are quite common in my area as are mule deer. I acutally live in the Great Basin and this statement needs to be changed to present and commonly seen. I know that people don't like to be edited, but if you need a citation I am glad to provide several.

    I am not a biologist, but it seems that grouping pronghorn, mule deer, and elk (wapiti) together with bighorn sheep and mountain lions as saying "present but uncommon" is slightly inaccurate. In my experience, these animals are fairly regularly encountered by humans (particularly mule deer). Bighorns have a much smaller range of habitat than these species, and mountain lions are predators, so they are necessarily smaller populations. Perhaps there is a better way of wording this or grouping them together? 155.97.232.72 00:35, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

    Two groups, with different "common"ness. Ideal is to quote from a wildlife biologist - generally they have a more precise idea of "common", also whether "common" is being compared to other species, or other regions; most large mammals are going to be sparser in the Great Basin than in the adjoining regions. Stan 17:38, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Photos, geography

    I think this page is getting to have enough photos. The picture of the rocky outcropping didn't really tell the reader anything about the Great Basin – there are rocky outcroppings everywhere. Other photos do show landscapes fairly well, but it's near the point where enough's enough.

    As for geography of the Great Basin, I would recommend not removing Lancaster and Palmdale, which are in the Great Basin. Remember, the Great Basin extends into Mexico and Oregon. It's not just a Utah/Nevada thing. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by MojaveNC (talk • contribs) 12:13, 6 February 2007 (UTC).

    [edit] Black Rock Desert extends into Oregon?

    Judging by the map (I'm using Widows Live Local), the Black Rock Desert doesn't extend into Oregon. Perhaps its drainage basin does? Does someone have a citation for this? If true I'd like to add the Black Rock Desert to the Deserts of Oregon category. Thanks. Katr67 20:08, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

    You have to parse the article carefully, but what it says is that the watershed of the Black Rock Desert extends into Oregon, which it does just barely. The Black Rock Desert proper ends well south of the Oregon border. Might be better to change the item to "Black Rock Desert/Quinn River Valley". Or you could just remove the Oregon - by the same token the Pyramid Lake watershed extends into California, which is not indicated in the article (probably because the California portion of the watershed is not commonly considered part of the Great Basin). Toiyabe 20:45, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Southern end of California's San Joaquin valley has no outlet to the sea

    A large alluvial fan where the Kings River exits the Sierra Nevada foothills and reaches the flat floor of the San Joaquin Valley forms a low divide where water can flow north to the San Joaquin River and ultimately to the Pacific, or south to the Tulare Basin which had several interconnected terminal lakes (Tulare, Buena Vista, Kern and Goose) before manmade irrigation projects appropriated virtually all water flowing in from surrounding mountains. Although the Tulare Basin is not conventionally included in hydrographic Great Basin, it is contiguous with it and seems to fit the definition.

    West of the Tulare Basin in the coastal "foothills" a smaller basin called the Carrizo Plain also has a closed drainage system. 76.80.9.100 17:22, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Confusion between hydrographic Great Basin and Great Basin Desert

    The hydrographic Great Basin includes most of the Mojave Desert south of the Great Basin Desert as far as the Transverse Ranges of California. South of these ranges the hydrographic Great Basin continues into the lower, hotter Sonoran Desert, crossing into Mexico south of the Salton Sea.

    However in discussions of flora and fauna, the article limits itself to organisms found in the Great Basin Desert, ignoring those found in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert sections of the hydrographic Great Basin. Would it be better to post a separate Great Basin Desert article and refer readers to the Mojave and Sonoran articles? 76.80.9.100 17:29, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] Why are all of the photos from Utah

    There seems to be a rather noticeable Utah bias to this article. Both the Great Basin Desert and Region occupy much, much more of Nevada than Utah, but ALL of the photos were taken in Utah. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Austinfidel (talk • contribs) 00:00, 26 April 2008