Black Rock Desert
| Black Rock Desert | |
| Desert | |
 The desert's 1,000 sq mi (2,600 km2) encompasses several areas:
492 sq mi (1,270 km2) wilderness (NE), 200 sq mi (520 km2) playa (SW), 100 sq mi (260 km2) between playa & wilderness, 100 sq mi (260 km2) N central branch and 100 sq mi (260 km2) perimeter (canyons etc.) |
|
| Name origin: "The Black Rock" near a spring | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Nevada |
| County | Humboldt, Pershing, Washoe |
| Part of | Great Basin section |
| Nearest city | Gerlach, Nevada |
| River | Quinn River |
| Location | Quinn River Sink |
| - elevation | 3,907 ft (1,191 m) |
| - coordinates | 40°52′59″N 119°03′50″W / 40.88306°N 119.06389°WCoordinates: 40°52′59″N 119°03′50″W / 40.88306°N 119.06389°W |
| Length | 100 mi (161 km) |
| Area | 1,000 sq mi (2,590 km2) |
| Biome | Lahontan Playa ecoregion and Salt Shrub Basin ecoregion |
| Public use | Federal lands: restrictions, Private lands: some grant permission |
| Easiest access | State Route 447 |
| Timezone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| - summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| GNIS ID | 863276 |
The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region), of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt playa 100 miles (160 km) north of Reno, Nevada that encompasses more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) of land and contains more than 120 miles (200 km) of historic trails. It is in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Lake Lahontan. The average annual precipitation (years 1971-2000) at Gerlach, Nevada (extreme south-west of the desert) is 7.90 inches (200 mm). The Great Basin, named for the geography in which water is unable to flow out and remains in the basin, is a rugged land serrated by hundreds of mountain ranges, dried by wind and sun, with spectacular skies and scenic landscapes. The region is notable for its paleogeologic features, as an area of 19th-century Emigrant Trails to California, as a venue for rocketry, and as an alternative to the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah, for setting land speed records (Mach 1.02 in 1997). It is also the location for the annual Burning Man festival.
The Black Rock Desert is part of the National Conservation Area (NCA), a unit of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS). The NCA is located in northwest Nevada, and was established by legislation in 2000. It is a unique combination of desert playa, narrow canyons, and mountainous areas.
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