Which desert in the United States is the largest desert in North America’s Great Basin region?

The Great Basin Desert is the largest desert in North America’s Great Basin region.

It covers much of Nevada and parts of Utah, Oregon, California, and Idaho. Unlike many hot deserts, it is a cold desert with high elevations, snowy winters, and large temperature differences between day and night. Its landscape is characterized by north-south mountain ranges separated by broad valleys, a pattern known as basin and range topography.

Much of the region has no drainage to the ocean. Water from some mountain ranges flows into internally drained basins, where it may end in dry lake beds or saline lakes. The Great Salt Lake is a famous remnant of the much larger prehistoric Lake Bonneville.

The Great Basin Desert is not synonymous with the Mojave or Sonoran deserts. Those are generally warmer deserts farther south, while the Great Basin’s elevation gives it a colder climate and different plant communities.