Cloistered oasis considered Nevada treasure
by Mark LaPointe, Outpost Staff
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On the eastern side of the Silver State, just minutes from Utah, cloistered in the shadow of the Snake Mountain Range, is Nevada's only National Park. To many, the Great Basin National Park represents an oasis in a desert better known for neon strips of casinos, deep mines of silver and gold and miles of dry dusty cattle ranches.
To Park Superintendent Becky Mills, Great Basin represents a type of existence. "The space, the views, the silence, the natural undeveloped world. Pronghorn herd against a sage slope. There is a way of being here that is just not possible in the urban world or in many heavily visited natural areas."
Great Basin is small in comparison to many national parks with slightly more than 77,000 acres of protected wilderness. Yet within the confines of
Great Basin National Park Welcomes Visitors from all over the World. Photo by Karin Winters |
From several of the tallest peaks in Nevada to low lying, sage-covered desert, the park is a haven for more than 60 species of mammals, 194 types of birds and 252 varieties of plants. It represents an area in which history meets recreation, in which water meets the desert and in which nature stands strong as it has for thousands of years.
copyright
12/10/97 Nevada Outpost
http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost
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Great Basin National Park Homepage National Park Service Homepage Map of Great Basin National Park
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