Carson Desert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carson Desert | |
|---|---|
 Timothy H. O'Sullivan's portable studio in the Carson Desert in 1867. | |
| Area | 2,150 sq mi (5,600 km2) [1] |
| Geography | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| Region | central Lahontan subregion of the Great Basin |
| Borders on | N: Humboldt Basin E: Central Nevada Desert Basins S: Walker River Basin W: Middle Carson Watershed NW: northern Lahontan subregion |
| Coordinates | 39°58′48″N 118°50′28″W / 39.980°N 118.841°W |
 | |
The Carson Desert is a desert in the Lahontan Basin and the desert valley of Churchill County, Nevada (U.S.), which receives an average 5 inches (130 mm) annual precipitation.[2] The desert is the low valley area (including the Carson Sink in the north of the valley) between the adjacent mountain ranges,[3] while the larger watershed includes the interior slopes of the demarcating ranges.[4] The desert was inundated by Lake Lahontan during the Pleistocene, and the watershed became part of Nevada's Conservation Security Program in 2005.[5]
