• Lehman Caves

    Great Basin

    National Park Nevada

Reptiles

Reptiles are often the animals people think of when one says the word "desert". The Great Basin Desert is higher in elevation than the other North American deserts. Winter temperatures can be cold, yet summer days are hot. Like most deserts, there can be a vast temperature difference between daytime high temperatures and nighttime low temperatures. Reptiles are "cold-blooded" and must regulate their body temperature by seeking out shade in the summer and warm dens in the winter. Snakes, especially rattlesnakes, are among the best-known of the Great Basin reptiles.

>Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Great Basin National Park & Vicinity (640 KB PDF)

>Reptile Poster (1,876 KB PDF)

Did You Know?

non-native plant, cheatgrass

One of the major ecological threats to the sagebrush-dominated Great Basin ecosystem is the introduction and spread of dozens of species of non-native plants. The most important of these, cheatgrass (or downy brome) covers the largest area: 25 million acres, one-third of the area of the Great Basin.