Location
The Great Basin is located in the Southwestern United States. Its boundaries are not straightforward--they can be defined by hydrographic patterns, trophic levels, and biological patterns.
Latitude and Longitude
The Great Basin National Park is located at 39° N and -114°W.
Nearby Water Sources
While the Great Basin is in fact a desert, there is plenty of water to support the area's abundant wildlife. Its main water source is winter snow, which melts in the spring to create streams that hydrate the environment. The Great Basin has 48 miles of perennial streams and over 400 springs (National Park Service).
Human Habitat
The Great Basin has been a human habitat for thousands of years. Evidence suggests that small bands of hunter-gatherer Native Americans occupied the Great Basin many thousands of years ago. European explorers navigated through the Great Basin in the 1700s. By the early 1800s, American pioneers made their way across the country and settled in areas around the Great Basin to mine for gold, silver, and copper (The Great Basin and Invasive Weeds). Today, people live in and around the Great Basin.
Vegetation
At the Great Basin's highest elevations, the forest community can thrive. This includes ancient trees, such as the bristlecone pines characteristic of the Great Basin. The juniper woodlands thrive at slightly lower elevations. Sagebrush generally grows at the Great Basin's middle elevation. At the basin's lowest elevation, the salt-desert shrub community grows where valley basins are filled with sediments from the eroded mountain ranges. This sediment makes the soil very salty (The Great Basin and Invasive Weeds).
The picture and map were found on National Park Service website. The diagram was found Great Basin and Invasive Weeds website.