Northern Basin and Range (ecoregion)
| Northern Basin and Range ecoregion | |
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Salt deposits at Summer Lake
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Northern Basin and Range (80)
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| Ecology | |
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| Geography | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California |
| Coordinates | 43°N 117°W / 43°N 117°WCoordinates: 43°N 117°W / 43°N 117°W |
The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. states of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and California. It contains dissected lava plains, rolling hills, alluvial fans, valleys, and scattered mountain ranges in the northern part of the Great Basin. Although arid, the ecoregion is higher and cooler than the Snake River Plain to the north and has more available moisture and a cooler climate than the Central Basin and Range to the south. Its southern boundary is determined by the highest shoreline of Lake Bonneville, which once inundated the Central Basin and Range. The western part of the region is internally drained; its eastern stream network drains to the Snake River system.
The valleys support sagebrush steppe or saltbush vegetation. Mollisol soils are common, in contrast to the aridisols of the Central Basin. Juniper-dominated woodland occurs on rugged, stony uplands. The mountain ranges are covered in mountain sagebrush, Idaho fescue, Douglas-fir, subalpine forests, or aspen. Today, most of the region is used for grazing. Dryland and irrigated cropland are found in some areas, but in general the soils are less suitable for agriculture than those in the Columbia Plateau and the Snake River Plain ecoregions. Most public lands in the region are managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
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