Great Basin Heritage Route Home Page

The Fremont, Shoshone, Utah and Paiute Indians, the explorers, trappers, miners, farmers and ranchers… all traveled through this area. Some, finding a way to live, stayed and made their homes here. The sublime attractions of the high desert valleys and mountains were irresistible. They found hidden treasures in this semi-arid region -- the soothing green of a mountain stream, the jewel of an alpine lake tucked behind a high ridge, the subtle colors of the landscape washed with wildflowers in a wet year, singed with earth tones in a drought.

Today as you pass through this land, imagine you are traveling on foot, on horseback or in a wagon. You come to the crest of a mountain pass and see another valley stretching before you, filled with nothing and everything. In the immensity you dream of farmland, rich mining claims, or the most outrageous dream of all -- space and peace and time.

On your journey through this land, you’ll hear many stories about the passages of those before you and the endurance of those still here.

Shoshone Youngsters in Full Regalia

The largest American desert, the Great Basin, covers 190,000 sq. mi. of the West. It stretches from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west to the Wasatch Mountains in the east. The region is named the Great Basin because no water drains to the sea; instead it evaporates into the open sky or disappears into the ground.

Geological forces stretching the earth’s crust have formed a unique "Basin and Range" topography characterized by numerous north-south trending mountain ranges separated by valleys that were once filled with lakes. Gems and minerals found in the ranges have shaped human activities here.

Islands of diversity rising into the sky, the mountains of the Great Basin, are surrounded by a sea of desert. The elevation change is sometimes more than a mile from valley floor to mountain top. Sagebrush and greasewood in the valleys give way to juniper and pinyon forests in the foothills. Bristlecone Pines -- some more than 3,000 years old -- and other tall timber grow on high peaks.

Wildlife includes antelope, mule deer, elk, mountain lions, coyotes, rabbits, bats, hawks, eagles, and other migratory birds. Some streams and lakes maintain fish populations including native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.

All living beings here -- including humans -- have adapted to a harsh yet beautiful environment, and together they form the heritage of the Great Basin.