Tour of Park Geology - Basin and Range Parks
The Basin and Range province has a characteristic topography that is familiar to anyone who is lucky enough to venture across it. Steep climbs up elongate mountain ranges alternate with long treks across flat, dry deserts, over and over and over again! This basic topographic pattern extends from eastern California to central Utah, and from southern Idaho into the state of Sonora in Mexico.
Within the Basin and Range Province, the Earth’s crust (and upper mantle) has been stretched up to 100% of its original width. The entire region has been subjected to extension that thinned and cracked the crust as it was pulled apart, creating large faults. Along these roughly north-south-trending faults mountains were uplifted and valleys down-dropped, producing the distinctive alternating pattern of linear mountain ranges and valleys of the Basin and Range province.
Basin and Range Geology
- Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
- Great Basin National Park, Nevada
- Joshua Tree National Park, California
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada
- Mojave National Preserve, California
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
