What is the Basin and Range Province?
Q: What is the Basin and Range Province?
A: The Basin and Range Province is a vast geographic region in the west United States and northwest Mexico. It has narrow faulted mountain chains, flat arid valleys or basins, and many ecoregions.
Q: What caused the physical geography of the province?
A: The physical geography (physiography) of the province was caused by extension and thinning of the lithosphere, which is composed of crust and upper mantle. What caused this thinning is still being investigated.
Q: When did this thinning begin?
A: The thinning began around 17 million years ago (mya) in early Miocene time.
Q: What are some notable points within the Basin and Range Province?
A: The highest point fully within the Province is White Mountain Peak in California, while the lowest point is Badwater Basin in Death Valley. Other high points are at the boundary of the Basin and Range province.
Q: How does Clarence Dutton describe this region?
A: Clarence Dutton compared the many narrow mountain ranges of the Basin and Range to an "army of caterpillars crawling northward".
Q: Is there a difference between Great Basin Ranges and greater Basin & Range region?
A: Yes, Great Basin Ranges are only part of greater basin & range region; they are defined by their watershed (internal drainage).
