The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Oregon and Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Wyoming, and Baja California, Mexico. It is noted for both its arid climate and the basin and range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. The region spans several physiographic divisions, biomes, ecoregions, and deserts.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area located in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Operated by the National Park Service, Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Grand Canyon National Park to just north of the cities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona. It includes all of the eponymous Lake Mead as well as the smaller Lake Mohave – reservoirs on the river created by Hoover Dam and Davis Dam, respectively – and the surrounding desert terrain and wilderness.
The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation. As of 2020, the 36,283 protected areas covered 1,118,917 km2 (432,016 sq mi), or 12 percent of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the protected land area of the world. The U.S. also had a total of 787 National Marine Protected Areas, covering an additional 3,210,908 km2 (1,239,739 sq mi), or 37 percent of the total marine area of the United States.
Rockland Lake State Park is a 1,133-acre (4.59 km2) state park located in the hamlets of Congers and Valley Cottage in the eastern part of the Town of Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York. The park is located on a ridge of Hook Mountain above the west bank of the Hudson River. Included within the park is the 256-acre (1.04 km2) Rockland Lake.
Rye Patch State Recreation Area is a 2,400-acre (970 ha) state park unit of Nevada, United States, adjoining Rye Patch Reservoir, an 11,000-acre (4,500 ha) impoundment on the Humboldt River, and the smaller Pitt-Taylor Reservoirs. The recreation area is located at the end of State Route 401, which connects to Interstate 80/U.S. Route 95 about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Lovelock.
Lahontan State Recreation Area is a public recreation area surrounding Lake Lahontan, a 17-mile-long (27 km) impoundment of the Carson River, located approximately 18 miles (29 km) west of Fallon, Nevada. The reservoir features 69 miles (111 km) of shoreline and 11,200 acres (4,500 ha) of water when full. Much of the park lies below 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in elevation and is dominated by high desert sagebrush. Wooded areas of native cottonwoods and willow trees can be found along the shore of the lake. Primary access points to the park are along U.S. Route 50 near the Lahontan Dam and off U.S. Route 95 in the town of Silver Springs. A corridor known as Carson River Ranches connects Lahontan with Fort Churchill State Historic Park.
Echo Canyon State Park is a public recreation area located about twelve miles (19 km) east of the town of Pioche, Nevada, United States. The state park surrounds the seventy-acre (28 ha) Echo Canyon Reservoir. The scenic area around Echo Canyon has several ranches and farms. The park ranges in elevation from 5,200 feet (1,600 m) to 5,600 feet (1,700 m) and sees occasional winter snows.
Lake Tahoe–Nevada State Park is a state park comprising multiple management units and public recreation areas on the northeast shores of Lake Tahoe in the U.S. state of Nevada. The park covers approximately 14,301 acres (5,787 ha). The Marlette Lake Water System, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, lies within park boundaries.
South Fork State Recreation Area is a state park unit of the state of Nevada covering nearly four thousand acres, located five miles (8.0 km) due south of Elko. The park comprises the 1,650-acre (670 ha) South Fork Reservoir and surrounding marsh, meadowlands, and hills.
Wild Horse State Recreation Area is a public recreation area located on the northeast shore of Wild Horse Reservoir, approximately 67 miles (108 km) north of Elko, Nevada. The 120-acre (49 ha) park is a popular destination for fishing, and especially ice fishing, on the reservoir, which was created in 1937 and enlarged to cover 2,830 acres (1,150 ha) with the creation of a new dam in 1969. In addition to year-round fishing, the park offers opportunities for camping, picnicking, boating, ice skating, sledding, snowmobiling, and skiing.
Pine Flat Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills of eastern Fresno County, California on the western north-south border to the Sierra- and Sequoia National Forests, about 30 mi (48 km) east of Fresno. The lake is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and is open to boaters, campers & hikers.
Walker Lake is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Walker Lake was 275.
Silverwood Lake is a large reservoir in San Bernardino County, California, United States, located on the West Fork Mojave River, a tributary of the Mojave River in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was created in 1971 as part of the State Water Project by the construction of the Cedar Springs Dam as a forebay on the 444 mi (715 km) long California Aqueduct, and has a capacity of 73,000 acre⋅ft (90,000,000 m3).
Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area is a state park located on the Rogue River approximately 40 miles (64 km) from Crater Lake National Park and 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Medford in Jackson County, southern Oregon. It is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Campsites are provided overlooking the Lost Creek Reservoir.
Goose Lake State Recreation Area is located on Stateline Road, between New Pine Creek, Oregon and Goose Lake in Lake County, Oregon, on the east side of Goose Lake on the Oregon–California border.
Devils Lake State Recreation Area is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Wild Horse Reservoir is a man-made lake in Elko County, Nevada in the United States. The reservoir was initially created in 1937 by the construction of Wild Horse Dam. In 1969, a new concrete single-angle arch dam was constructed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs with a height of 87 feet (27 m) and a length of 458 feet (140 m) at its crest. The original 1937 dam was left in place and is still partly visible. The newer dam doubled the size of the reservoir.
Walker River State Recreation Area is a 12,856 acre state park unit of Nevada along the East Walker River near the city of Yerington. The park is one of Nevada's largest and newest state park units, dedicated by Governor Brian Sandoval on September 18, 2018. The park is composed of four units consisting of historical ranch land. The land was officially reconveyed to the state in 2017 by the Walker Basin Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to the restoration Walker Lake while protecting environmental, agricultural and recreational interests. The Walker Basin Conservancy purchased the water rights and accompanying land for the benefit of Walker Lake. The Walker Basin Conservancy will maintain stewardship activities on the land.
The protected areas of the Sierra Nevada, a major mountain range located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, are numerous and highly diverse. Like the mountain range itself, these areas span hundreds of miles along the length of the range, and over 14,000 feet of elevation from the lowest foothills to the summit of Mount Whitney.
