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87-552: The Trout Creek Mountains are a remote, semi-arid Great Basin mountain range mostly in southeastern Oregon and partially in northern Nevada in the United States. The range's highest point is Orevada View Benchmark, 8,506 feet (2,593 m) above sea level, in Nevada. Disaster Peak , elevation 7,781 feet (2,372 m), is another prominent summit in the Nevada portion of the mountains. The mountains are characteristic of

174-709: A language in the Numic language group. To close a 1951 Indian Claims Commission case, the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act of 2004 established the United States payment of $ 117 million to the Great Basin tribe for the acquisition of 39,000 square miles (100,000 km ). European exploration of the Great Basin occurred during the 18th century Spanish colonization of the Americas . The first immigrant American to cross

261-402: A large rhyolite dome structure. The caldera formed when the dome collapsed about 16 million years ago. The caldera contains significant ore deposits , and mercury and uranium have been mined at eight or more sites in and around the caldera. Other sites at the caldera were mined for antimony , cesium , and lithium ores. The Trout Creek Mountains are semi-arid because they are in

348-781: A new grazing allotment management plan. It was based on the agreements made by the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group, and it took effect in 1992. Since then, vegetation in riparian areas of the Trout Creek Mountains has recovered, and studies by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service have found that the Lahontan cutthroat trout population, still listed as threatened, is also recovering. Great Basin The term "Great Basin"

435-426: Is applied to hydrographic , biological , floristic , physiographic, topographic , and ethnographic geographic areas. The name was originally coined by John C. Frémont , who, based on information gleaned from Joseph R. Walker as well as his own travels, recognized the hydrographic nature of the landform as "having no connection to the ocean". The hydrographic definition is the most commonly used, and

522-569: Is at Willow Creek Hot Springs, just south of the Whitehorse Ranch , where nearby there are miles of trails designated for four-wheel off-road vehicles . Hunters come to the mountains seeking trophy mule deer, pronghorn, chukars , and rabbits. Fishing on some streams is sometimes permitted on a catch-and-release basis. The mountains are also suitable for hiking cross-country or on game trails in natural corridors along canyons and creek bottoms. There are more than 100 archaeological sites in

609-567: Is dominated by rolling hills and ridges cut by escarpments and canyons. Most of the range is public land administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management . There is very little human development in the remote region— cattle grazing and ranching are the primary human uses—but former mines at the McDermitt Caldera produced some of the largest amounts of mercury in North America in the 20th century. Public lands in

696-446: Is flatter and stream channels are wider. Sedges and rushes are also native to these stream bottoms. Years of heavy livestock grazing in parts of the range resulted in the loss of some grass species, riparian vegetation, and young aspen and willow trees. Restoration of riparian areas began in the early 1970s, and plans to reduce grazing were implemented in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, large wildfires in southeastern Oregon during

783-551: Is nicknamed "The Loneliest Road in America", and Nevada State Route 375 is designated the "Extraterrestrial Highway". The Great Basin is traversed by several rail lines including the Union Pacific Railroad 's Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad) through Reno and Ogden , Feather River Route , Central Corridor and Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad . There has been a succession of indigenous peoples of

870-492: Is no designated wilderness area in the Pueblo Mountains, traveling in the mountains can be very challenging. The Desert Trail runs through the mountains; however, it is not a developed hiking trail. The route is simply marked by rock cairns that serve as guideposts, allowing hikers to trek cross-country over the high-desert terrain from one marker to the next. The cairns were built as a cooperative venture between

957-621: Is the only one with a definitive border. The other definitions yield not only different geographical boundaries of "Great Basin" regions but regional borders that vary from source to source. The Great Basin Desert is defined by plant and animal communities, and, according to the National Park Service , its boundaries approximate the hydrographic Great Basin but exclude the southern " panhandle ". The Great Basin Province

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1044-522: Is the result of extension and thinning of the lithosphere , which is composed of crust and upper mantle . Extensional environments like the Basin and Range are characterized by listric normal faulting , or faults that level out with depth. Opposing normal faults link at depth producing a horst and graben geometry, where horst refers to the upthrown fault block and graben to the down dropped fault block. Sediment build-up over thousands of years filled

1131-676: Is very little human development in the Pueblo Mountains, and most visitors come for backpacking cross-country, camping , and hunting . The Pueblo Mountains in Harney County, Oregon , and Humboldt County, Nevada , are part of the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States , which is characterized by a series of parallel fault blocks forming long north–south-oriented mountain ranges separated by wide, high-desert valleys. The Steens-Pueblo block fault represents

1218-599: The Cui-ui sucker fish (endangered 1967) and the Lahontan cutthroat trout (threatened 1970). Large invertebrates include tarantulas (genus Aphonopelma ) and Mormon crickets . Exotic species, including chukar , grey partridge , and Himalayan snowcock , have been successfully introduced to the Great Basin, although the latter has only thrived in the Ruby Mountains . Cheatgrass , an invasive species which

1305-702: The Great Basin fence lizard , longnose leopard lizard and horned lizard are common, especially in lower elevations. Rattlesnakes and gopher snakes are also present. The Inyo Mountains salamander is endangered. Shorebirds such as phalaropes and curlews can be found in wet areas. American white pelicans are common at Pyramid Lake . Golden eagles are also very common in the Great Basin. Mourning dove , western meadowlark , black-billed magpie , and common raven are other common bird species. Two endangered species of fish are found in Pyramid Lake:

1392-725: The Humboldt Sink are a few of the "drains" in the Great Basin. The Salton Sink is another closed basin within the Great Basin. The Great Basin Divide separates the Great Basin from the watersheds draining to the Pacific Ocean. The southernmost portion of the Great Basin is the watershed area of the Laguna Salada . The Great Basin's longest and largest river is the Bear River of 350 mi (560 km), and

1479-533: The United States located mostly in southeastern Oregon and partially in northwestern Nevada . The highest point in the range is Pueblo Mountain . The dominant vegetation throughout is grasses and big sagebrush ; however, there are meadows with cottonwood , aspen , and willow groves along some stream drainages. Most of the range is public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management . There

1566-466: The cold Great Basin and Oregon High Deserts in the north. The deserts can be distinguished by their plants: the Joshua tree and creosote bush occur in the hot deserts, while the cold deserts have neither. The cold deserts are generally higher than the hot and have more even spread of precipitation throughout the year. The climate and flora of the Great Basin are strongly dependent on elevation; as

1653-706: The sage grouse , mountain chickadee , gray-headed junco , black-throated gray warbler , Virginia's warbler , MacGillivray's warbler , pine siskin , red crossbill , bushtit , hermit thrush , northern goshawk , and species of raven and eagle . Several streams in the Trout Creek Mountains are home to trout, including the rare Lahontan cutthroat trout subspecies. These include Willow Creek, Whitehorse Creek, Little Whitehorse Creek, Doolittle Creek, Fifteen Mile Creek, Indian Creek, Sage Canyon Creek, Line Canyon Creek, and some tributaries of McDermitt Creek. Lahontan cutthroat trout live in small, isolated populations that are often confined to individual streams, many of them in

1740-433: The 1970s and 1980s, a century of intense cattle grazing had reduced much of the riparian vegetation along stream banks in the Trout Creek Mountains and elsewhere in the Great Basin. As a result, stream banks were eroding and upland vegetation was encroaching into riparian zones. Aspen populations declined as grazing cattle eliminated young trees, decreasing shade over streams and raising water temperatures. These conditions put

1827-659: The BLM lands include large grazing allotments for local ranchers' cattle. At least 100 mining claims in the mountains have been recorded since 1892, some of which were staked for gold exploration. Commercial mining has occurred in some areas, mostly near the McDermitt Caldera, where uranium and large amounts of mercury have been extracted. Mines in what was called the Opalite Mining District produced 270,000 flasks of mercury—"the richest supply of mercury in

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1914-535: The Basin and Range Province contains the Great Basin, but extends into eastern Oregon , southern Idaho , and the Colorado River watershed and the northwest corner of Arizona ). The Basin and Range region is the product of geological forces stretching the Earth's crust, creating many north–south trending mountain ranges. These ranges are separated by flat valleys or basins. These hundreds of ranges make Nevada

2001-604: The Bureau of Land Management, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department , and the Desert Trail Association (a private organization). The Desert Trail Association publishes a topographic map for hikers that gives directions for orienteering from cairn to cairn. Cattle and sheep grazing in the Pueblo Mountains began when the first ranches were established along the eastern edge of the mountains in

2088-511: The Cordero Mine in the 21st century, and waste containing mercury and arsenic was returned there from the community of McDermitt as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup project. The entire mountain range is very remote; as a result, there are few visitors, and the range offers a wilderness-like experience. Camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking are the most popular activities. The only developed recreation site nearby

2175-670: The Cretaceous Period. One broad geologic feature in the Trout Creek Mountains is McDermitt Caldera . The oval-shaped caldera is a collapsed lava dome that straddles the Oregon–Nevada border on the eastern side of the range south of the Oregon Canyon Mountains. It is about 28 miles (45 km) long and 22 miles (35 km) wide. The lava dome was created by volcanic eruptions in the early Miocene. A total of five large ash flows were produced along with

2262-564: The Fremont built small villages and grew crops like corn and squash. Seven hundred years ago, the Shoshone inhabited the area after the Fremont. They were hunter-gathers and lived in temporary homes to be able to follow animal herds and collect plants. Now, Shoshone descendants live in nearby areas. Other tribes in the area included the Ute , Mono , and Northern Paiute . All of the tribes speak

2349-466: The Great Basin . Paleo-Indian habitation by the Great Basin tribes began as early as 10,000 B.C. . Archaeological evidence of habitation sites along the shore of Lake Lahontan date from the end of the ice age when its shoreline was approximately 500 feet (150 m) higher along the sides of the surrounding mountains. The Paleo-Indians were mainly hunters and hunted bison, the extinct mammoth, and extinct ground sloth. For housing, since they followed

2436-774: The Great Basin from the Sierra Nevada was Jedediah Strong Smith in 1827. Peter Skene Ogden of the British Hudson's Bay Company explored the Great Salt Lake and Humboldt River regions in the late 1820s, following the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada to the Gulf of California. Benjamin Bonneville explored the northeast portion during an 1832 expedition . The United States had acquired claims to

2523-745: The Great Basin into three ecoregions roughly according to latitude: the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion , the Central Basin and Range ecoregion , and the Mojave Basin and Range ecoregion . Great Basin wildlife includes pronghorn , mule deer , mountain lion , and lagomorphs such as black-tailed jackrabbit and desert cottontail and the coyotes that prey on them. Packrats , kangaroo rats and other small rodents are also common, and are predominantly nocturnal. Elk and bighorn sheep are present but uncommon. Small lizards such as

2610-475: The Great Basin's central Lahontan subregion. The hydrographic Great Basin contains multiple deserts and ecoregions , each with its own distinctive set of flora and fauna. The ecological boundaries and divisions in the Great Basin are unclear. The Great Basin overlaps four different deserts: portions of the hot Mojave and Colorado (a region within the Sonoran Desert ) Deserts to the south, and

2697-404: The Great Basin's topography of mostly parallel mountain ranges alternating with flat valleys. Oriented generally north to south, the Trout Creek Mountains consist primarily of fault blocks of basalt , which came from an ancient volcano and other vents, on top of older metamorphic rocks . The southern end of the range, however, features many granitic outcrops . As a whole, the faulted terrain

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2784-405: The Pueblo Mountains include larkspur , Indian paintbrush , cinquefoil , shooting star , columbines , monkey flower , asters , buttercups , low pussytoe , lupin , arrowleaf balsamroot , penstemon , agoseris , draba , mariposa lily , sego lilies , evening primrose , and iris . The wildlife in the Pueblo Mountains is adapted to the high-desert environment. Pronghorn are common in

2871-484: The Pueblo Mountains is dominated by big sagebrush and desert grasses. Common grass species include Idaho fescue , bluebunch wheatgrass , cheatgrass , Thurber's needlegrass , mountain brome , Sandberg's bluegrass , and bottlebrush squirreltail . There are high mountain meadows around springs and narrow riparian greenways that follow the year-round streams. Some greenway areas have cottonwood , aspen , and willow groves. Meadow and high-desert wildflowers found in

2958-444: The Pueblo Mountains is managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management . The entire mountain range is quite remote; as a result, there are few visitors. Hiking, camping, hunting, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, and photography are the most popular activities. There are also grazing allotments and mining claims in the mountains. The Pueblo Mountains are currently being evaluated for possible wind power sites. While there

3045-422: The Trout Creek Mountain Working Group included: Over the next several years, the group continued to meet and discuss options for restoring the land while meeting the economic needs of local ranchers. Meetings were all open to the public. The group eventually endorsed a grazing management plan that provided for both the ecological health of sensitive riparian areas and the economic well-being of ranchers. In 1989,

3132-509: The Trout Creek Mountains declined throughout much of the 20th century. In the 1980s, the effects of grazing allotments on riparian zones and the fish led to land-use conflict . The Trout Creek Mountain Working Group was formed in 1988 to help resolve disagreements among livestock owners, environmentalists, government agencies, and other interested parties. The stakeholders met and agreed on changes to land-use practices, and since

3219-510: The Trout Creek Mountains. These populations have significant genetic differences due to their history of isolation. For most of the 20th century, the trout's numbers declined considerably. It was listed under federal law as an endangered species in 1970 and was reclassified as threatened in 1975. Reasons for the fish's decline included habitat degradation from cattle grazing, drought, overfishing, competition with other fish, and hybridization with introduced rainbow trout , which decreased

3306-492: The United States . The "section" is somewhat larger than the hydrographic definition. The Great Basin culture area , or indigenous peoples of the Great Basin , is a cultural classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and a cultural region located between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The culture area covers approximately 400,000 sq mi (1,000,000 km ), or just less than twice

3393-474: The Van Horn Basin. Bird species native to the Pueblo Mountains include the sage grouse , canyon wren , rock wren , valley quail , and chukar . There are also larger birds like golden eagles , red-tailed hawks , turkey vultures , and ravens that ride the thermals above the mountains. There are also rare Whitehorse Basin cutthroat trout in both Van Horn Creek and Denio Creek. Most land in

3480-475: The Whitehorse Ranch agreed to rest two grazing allotments totaling 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) to restore critical stream greenways and mountain pastures. The ranch's allotment on Fifteen Mile Creek was rested for three years, and its Willow Creek pasture received a five-year rest before grazing was resumed. In addition, the grazing season in mountain pastures was reduced from four months to two, and

3567-615: The animals they were hunting, they had no permanent villages. The next group to live in the area was the Great Basin Desert Archaic, from approximately 9,000 to 1,500 years ago. They hunted animals like mule deer and antelope and gathered onions, wild rye, and pinyon pine nuts. Then, from 1,500 to 700 years ago, the Fremont lived in the area. Unlike the Paleo-Indians, who moved around to follow bison herds,

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3654-606: The annual precipitation occurs between the beginning of March and the end of June. Most of the rest falls as snow during the fall and winter months. Snowpack at elevations below 6,000 feet (1,800 m) usually melts by April; however, at the higher elevations, snow can remain until mid-June. Local flooding often occurs in the spring as the snowpack melts. The prevailing winds are from the west-southwest, and they are normally strongest in March and April. Brief, intense thunderstorms are common between April and October. Thunderstorms in

3741-602: The area of the hydrographic Great Basin. The hydrographic Great Basin is a 209,162-square-mile (541,730 km ) area that once drained internally. All precipitation in the region evaporated, sank underground or flowed into lakes (mostly saline). As observed by Fremont, creeks, streams, or rivers find no outlet to either the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean . The region is bounded by the Wasatch Mountains to

3828-454: The area. Today, there are still valid mining claims in some parts of the Pueblo Mountains along with a few abandoned miners' cabins. Wind power is now being explored in the Pueblo Mountains. In 2006, the Bureau of Land Management approved a wind energy test at a 468-acre (1.89 km ) site in the Pueblo Mountains. The test allowed a private wind energy company to install, operate, and maintain two meteorological poles. The test equipment on

3915-418: The basin experiences a semi-arid or arid climate with warm summers and cold winters. However, some of the mountainous areas in the basin are high enough in elevation to experience an alpine climate . Due to the region's altitude and aridity, most areas in the Great Basin experience a substantial diurnal temperature variation . Pueblo Mountains The Pueblo Mountains are a remote mountain range in

4002-469: The bottoms. There are meadows around springs in the mountains, although most streams in the range do not flow year-round. Major streams that flow off the north slopes of the mountains include (from west to east) Cottonwood Creek, Trout Creek, Willow Creek, and Whitehorse Creek. These streams all flow into endorheic basins in Harney County, Oregon. Trout Creek and Whitehorse Creek are the largest of

4089-687: The down-faulted basins between ranges and created relatively flat lacustrine plains from Pleistocene lake beds of the Great Basin. For example, after forming about 32,000 years ago , Lake Bonneville overflowed about 14,500 years ago in the Bonneville Flood through Red Rock Pass and lowered to the "Provo Lake" level (the Great Salt Lake , Utah Lake , Sevier Lake , Rush Lake , and Little Salt Lake remain). Lake Lahontan , Lake Manly , and Lake Mojave were similar Pleistocene lakes. The Great Basin physiographic section of

4176-488: The early 1990s, riparian zones have begun to recover. The Trout Creek Mountains are in a very remote area of southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada, in Harney and Humboldt counties. The nearest human settlements are the Whitehorse Ranch , about 20 miles (32 km) directly north from the middle of the mountains; Fields, Oregon , about 23 miles (37 km) to the northwest; Denio, Nevada , about 15 miles (24 km) to

4263-514: The east, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges to the west, and the Snake River Basin to the north. The south rim is less distinct. The Great Basin includes most of Nevada , half of Utah , substantial portions of Oregon and California , and small areas of Idaho , Wyoming , and Baja California, Mexico . The term "Great Basin" is slightly misleading; the region comprises many small basins. The Great Salt Lake , Pyramid Lake , and

4350-604: The eastern rain shadow of mountain ranges to the west. When moist air from the Pacific Ocean moves eastward over the Oregon and California coastal ranges and the Cascade Range , most precipitation falls in those mountains before reaching the Trout Creek Mountains. As a result, the average annual precipitation in the Trout Creek Mountains is only 8 to 26 inches (200 to 660 mm) per year, with most areas receiving between 8 and 12 inches (200 and 300 mm) annually. Much of

4437-733: The eastern regions of the 1848 California Gold Rush , with its immigrants crossing the Great Basin on the California Trail along Nevada's Humboldt River to Carson Pass in the Sierras. The Oregon Territory was established in 1848 and the Utah Territory in 1850. In 1869 the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit in the Great Basin. Around 1902, the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad

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4524-402: The elevation increases, the temperature decreases and precipitation increases. Because of this, forests can occur at higher elevations. Utah juniper / single-leaf pinyon (southern regions) and mountain mahogany (northern regions) form open pinyon-juniper woodland on the slopes of most ranges. Stands of limber pine and Great Basin bristlecone pine ( Pinus longaeva ) can be found in some of

4611-495: The floor of the Quinn River Valley south of McDermitt. The mountains lie within the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States , which is characterized by parallel fault blocks that form long north–south mountain ranges separated by wide, high-desert valleys. The Trout Creek Mountains are uplifted and tilted fault blocks with steep escarpments along the southern and eastern sides. The southern area of

4698-611: The four. The Kings River and McDermitt Creek each drain an area on the south slopes of the Trout Creek Mountains. The Kings River begins in The Granites and flows south into Nevada, where it meets the Quinn River , which evaporates in the Black Rock Desert . McDermitt Creek begins in Oregon a few miles north of The Granites and flows generally east, crossing the Oregon–Nevada border five times before disappearing into

4785-429: The high country. Jackrabbits and coyotes are prevalent throughout the range. Mustangs sometimes pass through the mountains as they roam the Great Basin. Some other mammals include the northern pocket gopher , mountain cottontail , and Belding's ground squirrel . North American beavers live in and along streams, as do Pacific tree frogs , western spadefoot toads , and garter snakes . Native bird species include

4872-517: The higher ranges. In riparian areas with dependable water cottonwoods ( Populus fremontii ) and quaking aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) groves exist. Because the forest ecosystem is distinct from a typical desert, some authorities, such as the World Wildlife Fund , separate the mountains of the Great Basin desert into their own ecoregion: the Great Basin montane forests . Many rare and endemic species occur in this ecoregion, because

4959-598: The individual mountain ranges are isolated from each other. During the Last Glacial Period , the Great Basin was wetter. As it dried during the Holocene epoch, some species retreated to the higher isolated mountains and have high genetic diversity. Other authorities divide the Great Basin into different ecoregions, depending on their own criteria. Armen Takhtajan defined the "Great Basin floristic province". The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency divides

5046-413: The issue of grazing in the range would produce prolonged litigation with appeals potentially lasting decades. However, in 1988, interest groups representing all sides of the issue joined to form the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group. The group's goal was to find a solution acceptable to everyone—a plan that would protect both the land's ecological health and ranchers' economic needs. Initial members of

5133-470: The largest single watershed is the Humboldt River drainage of roughly 17,000 sq mi (44,000 km ). Most Great Basin precipitation is snow, and the precipitation that neither evaporates nor is extracted for human use will sink into groundwater aquifers , while evaporation of collected water occurs from geographic sinks . Lake Tahoe , North America's largest alpine lake , is part of

5220-400: The mid-1860s. Today, the Bureau of Land Management oversees grazing allotments in the area. Cattle can be found grazing in some mountain meadows and on open rangeland during the spring and summer. Miners were among the first Europeans to explore the Pueblo Mountains. There are at least 18 locations where mining took place in the past. However, commercial mining has never been successful in

5307-842: The more recent basalt flows. These older rocks are exposed along the range's east-facing escarpment and may be related to some of the Triassic formations of the Blue Mountains to the north. These strata have diorite and granodiorite intrusions, probably formed in the Cretaceous Period . The southern part of the Pueblo Mountains has metamorphic rocks rich in quartz impregnated with gold , silver , and copper . The Pueblo Mountains cover an area of 356 square miles (920 km ) (including surrounding low-lying terrain), running 30 miles (48 km) north to south and 22 miles (35 km) east to west. The highest peak in

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5394-536: The most mountainous state in the country. The Great Basin's two most populous metropolitan areas are the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area to the west and the Wasatch Front to the east (with the latter being significantly more populous than the former). The region between these two areas is sparsely populated, but includes the smaller cities of Elko , Ely , Wendover , West Wendover , and Winnemucca . To

5481-454: The mountains are open to recreation but are rarely visited. Vegetation includes large swaths of big sagebrush in addition to desert grasses and cottonwood and alder stands. Sage grouse and mountain chickadee are two bird species native to the range, and common mammals include pronghorn and jackrabbits . Despite the area's dry climate, a few year-round streams provide habitat for the rare Lahontan cutthroat trout . Fish populations in

5568-903: The north are; in California Susanville , in Oregon Burns and Hines , in Idaho Malad and in Wyoming Evanston . To the south are Cedar City , Tonopah , and Bishop and the very southern area of the basin has the communities of Pahrump , Palmdale , Victorville , and Palm Springs . Interstate Highways traversing the Great Basin are Interstate 80 (I-80) and I-15 , and I-70 and I-84 have their respective endpoints within its boundaries. Other major roadways are U.S. Route 6 (US 6), US 50 , US 93 , US 95 and US 395 . The section of US 50 between Delta, Utah , and Fallon, Nevada ,

5655-483: The northernmost extension of these structures. The Pueblo fault is not as massive as Steens Mountain ; however, it is tilted at a 45-degree angle, a much greater angle than the Steens fault. This accounts for the relatively high elevation of the range's main ridgeline, which averages 7,300 feet (2,200 m) above sea level along its crest. The mountains are composed of the same basalt that blankets much of southeastern Oregon. Much older metamorphic rocks lie under

5742-421: The number of genetically pure Lahontan cutthroat trout. However, reductions in cattle grazing in riparian zones since the 1980s allowed fish habitat and populations to start to recover. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers most land in the Trout Creek Mountains, but there are also some private lands and some roads in the area. The private lands are mainly used for ranching along mountain streams, while

5829-528: The open, sagebrush-covered basins, while mule deer like the cottonwood and willow groves. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released bighorn sheep in the Pueblo Mountains in 1976, 1980, and 1983. Today, they can be found on the steep slopes and high rim rocks. Jackrabbits , antelope ground squirrels , bushy-tailed woodrats , and coyotes are common throughout the range, as are small-footed myotis bats . Beavers can be found in 10 Cent Meadow and several mountain streams as well as riparian areas in

5916-513: The range consists of meadow wetlands and riparian greenways (vegetation along stream banks). However, these areas are vital to the local ecosystem. The meadows surround springs, which are mostly on gently sloping uplands or in stream bottoms, and range in size from about 1 to 5 acres (0.40 to 2.02 ha). Narrow riparian greenways follow the year-round streams. Many greenway areas have quaking aspen and willow groves. Cottonwood and alder groves can be found at lower elevations where terrain

6003-410: The range is Pueblo Mountain, which is 8,632 feet (2,631 m) above sea level at its summit. It is located in Oregon, 8 miles (13 km) north of the Nevada state line. Just west of Pueblo Mountain is West Pueblo Ridge. The ridge is a westward-tilted escarpment that runs the length of the Pueblo Mountains. At 8,420 feet (2,570 m), the peak of West Pueblo Ridge is the second highest point in

6090-409: The range is in Oregon (78%) than in Nevada (22%). The highest point in the range is Orevada View Benchmark, which is 8,506 feet (2,593 m) above sea level and is located in Nevada about one mile south of the Oregon border. About two miles southeast of Orevada View is Disaster Peak, "a large, symmetrical butte that is visible throughout the region." At 7,781 feet (2,372 m), Disaster Peak anchors

6177-407: The range that document use by Northern Paiute people as long as 7,000 years ago. Cattle grazing in the Trout Creek Mountains began in the late 19th century, and the BLM currently oversees grazing allotments in the area. Cattle can be found grazing in some areas during the spring and summer months. The effects of grazing on the local environment were the subject of controversy in the 1980s. By

6264-726: The range, known as The Granites, has numerous outcrops of Cretaceous granite beneath younger volcanic rocks. The rocks themselves of the Trout Creek Mountains are primarily basalt from a shield volcano that once stood where Steens Mountain is today. About 17 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, the Yellowstone hotspot was located beneath the thinning crust of southeastern Oregon and caused eruptions from Steens and nearby vents. The Steens eruptions lasted for about one million years and produced at least 70 separate basaltic lava flows. Subsequent faulting associated with

6351-412: The range. The landscape is characterized by rugged ridges with steep escarpments deeply cut by seasonal drainages. The ridges are separated by high-desert basins. There are meadows around spring areas. Machine Meadow and 10 Cent Meadow are two of the largest meadows. The Pueblo Mountains have only a few streams that flow year-round. These include Van Horn Creek and Denio Creek. The vegetation in

6438-501: The rare Lahontan cutthroat trout population at risk. Since the Lahontan was officially designated as a threatened species, environmental groups began advocating the cancellation of grazing permits in the Trout Creek Mountains. Beginning in the early 1970s, the Bureau of Land Management identified damaged riparian zones and began projects to restore natural habitat in those areas. Approximately 20,000 willow trees were planted along streams, small dams were put together to create more pools in

6525-441: The regional crustal thinning of the Basin and Range uplifted and tilted these rocks to shape them into the Trout Creek Mountains. Beneath the mountains, underlying the basaltic rocks, are much older metamorphic rocks that may be related to some of the Triassic formations of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon. Within these metamorphic rocks are diorite and granodiorite – intrusive bodies that presumably formed during

6612-635: The southern end of the mountains in a sub-range called The Granites. The Oregon Canyon Mountains border the Trout Creek Mountains on the east along the Harney– Malheur county line (according to the United States Geological Survey 's definitions), while the Pueblo Mountains are the next range west of the Trout Creek Mountains. The Bilk Creek Mountains in both Oregon and Nevada border the Trout Creek Mountains on

6699-712: The southwest; the two ranges are separated by Log Cabin Creek and South Fork Cottonwood Creek. South of the Trout Creek Mountains is the Kings River Valley , which separates the Bilk Creek Mountains on the west from the Montana Mountains on the east. The terrain in the Trout Creek Mountains varies from broad, flat basins and rolling ridges to high rock escarpments cut by deep canyons. The canyons have steep walls with loose talus slopes at

6786-493: The streams, and fencing was added to protect riparian zones from grazing. Next, the agency sought to reform land-use plans to change grazing practices, which became a complex and controversial project. As environmentalists pressed the BLM to close much of the Trout Creek Mountains to grazing, frustrated ranchers joined the Sagebrush Rebellion seeking to protect their grazing allotments. Initially, it appeared that

6873-592: The summer months tend to be more isolated and often produce dry lightning strikes. Vegetation in the Trout Creek Mountains is dominated by big sagebrush and desert grasses. Other common shrubs include bitterbrush , snowberry , and Ceanothus . There are also patches of mountain mahogany in some areas. Common grass species include Idaho fescue , bluebunch wheatgrass , cheatgrass , western needlegrass , Sandberg's bluegrass , Thurber's needlegrass , and bottlebrush squirreltail , as well as basin wildrye in some well-drained areas. Less than one percent of

6960-461: The summer of 2012 burned much of the range's vegetation, damaging riparian ecosystems and killing hundreds of grazing cattle. Animals in the Trout Creek Mountains are adapted to the environment of the High Desert . Pronghorn are common in the open, sagebrush-covered basins, while mule deer live in the cottonwood and willow groves. There are also bighorn sheep , cougars , and bobcats in

7047-615: The territory north of the 42nd parallel via the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty with Spain and 1846 Oregon Treaty with Britain. The US gained claims to most of the rest of the Great Basin via the 1848 Mexican Cession . The first non-indigenous settlement was in 1847 in the Great Salt Lake Valley, leading to the first American religious settlement effort of the Mormon provisional State of Deseret in 1849 in present-day Utah and northern Nevada. Later settlements were connected with

7134-463: The total number of cattle released in the allotment areas was reduced from 3,800 to 2,200. Finally, sensitive areas were fenced to protect them from cattle, and additional water sources were constructed away from streams. Other ranches also agreed to rest specific pastures including the Trout Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Whitehorse Butte allotments. In 1991, the Bureau of Land Management approved

7221-437: The west; and McDermitt, Nevada–Oregon , about 30 miles (48 km) to the east. The mountains are about 150 miles (240 km) directly southwest of Boise, Idaho , and about 190 miles (310 km) northeast of Reno, Nevada . The range and surrounding non-mountainous areas cover an area of 811 square miles (2,100 km). The mountains run 51 miles (82 km) north to south and 36 miles (58 km) east to west. More of

7308-467: The western hemisphere"—from cinnabar extracted from the caldera in the 20th century. The two leading mercury-producing mines in North America were the Cordero and McDermitt mines on the edge of the caldera in Nevada. Together, they operated from 1933 to 1989. The McDermitt Mine, the last mercury mine in the United States, closed three years later, in 1992. However, mineral exploration has continued at

7395-402: Was constructed in the lower basin and Mojave Desert for California-Nevada rail service to Las Vegas, Nevada. The climate varies throughout the Great Basin by elevation, latitude, and other factors. Higher elevations tend to be cooler and receive more precipitation. The western areas of the basin tend to be drier than the eastern areas because of the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada . Most of

7482-804: Was defined by botanist Armen Takhtajan to extend well beyond the boundaries of the hydrographically defined Great Basin: it includes the Snake River Plain , the Colorado Plateau , the Uinta Basin , and parts of Arizona north of the Mogollon Rim . The Great Basin physiographic section is a geographic division of the Basin and Range Province defined by Nevin Fenneman in 1931. The United States Geological Survey adapted Fenneman's scheme in their Physiographic division of

7569-422: Was unintentionally introduced, forms a critical portion of their diets. Feral horses ( mustangs ) and feral burros are highly reproductive, and ecosystem-controversial, alien species. Most of the Great Basin is open range and domestic cattle and sheep are widespread. The Great Basin includes valleys, basins, lakes and mountain ranges of the Basin and Range Province . The basin and range topography

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