Over 40 caves in Great Basin National Park have been located, and of those about half have had biological inventories conducted. To date, more than 100 taxa have been found. A current study of several caves will help us understand the distribution and ecology of some of these underground dwellers.

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Lehman Caves is remarkably well-decorated with cave formations, or as geologists call them, speleothems: Stalactites, Stalagmites, Helictites, Flowstone, Draperies, the mysterious Shields, and more. By good fortune, these wonders are no longer hidden. The earth has revealed one more secret from its treasury.

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Modern visitors make a considerable commitment just getting to their national park to satisfy their curiosity about an unexplored land. We travel great distances to wonder at myterious caverns, to marvel at the astonishing bristlecone pines, to breathe deeply, and escape the crowded places. By studying and visiting the spectacular Great Basin, we learn about our local and worldwide environments - and we learn about ourselves.

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Humans have inhabited the Great Basin for at least 12,000 years from Paleo-Indians, Hunter-gatherers of the Desert Archaic cultures, Fremont, Shoshone, Paiute, Ute, and Europeans who were explorers and settlers. Many called Great Basin their home.

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Geology of the Great Basin creates a rich diversity in its flora and fauna. Biological diversity is due largely to the great differences in elevation from valley floors to mountain summits. Driving up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is like driving north hundreds of miles. You can travel through the various communities of life: Valley Sagebrush Community, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Mountain-Mahogany Woodland, and Conifer Forest Community. At treeline, ancient bristlecone pines stubbornly cling to slopes and ridges thriving in this formidable country of wind and cold on dry, rocky soils.

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Isolated by natural barriers of mountain ranges and valley basins, plants must cope with uprooting winds, long periods of killing cold, brief blasts of heat, too little atmosphere, and too much sun - as well as the single most important environmental factor, the scarcity of water. And yet, in spite of (or perhaps because of) what the environment does to make life implausible, biological diversity abounds in the Great Basin.

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Great Basin National Park is one of the few places where the sky remains dark and the air remains clean. Located far from the glare of cities, the park offers an increasingly rare chance to experience the night sky in full glittering depth. Off the path of pollutant-transporting prevailing winds, daytime views at Great Basin National Park are no less than extraordinary. The park has the highest average visibility in the nation - on an average day one can see for more than 100 miles.

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Baker Creek

Inlet Flow

Johnson Lake

Stella Lake

Teresa Lake in June 2005

There is a layer cake of habitats and life zones, each with its characteristic plants and animals and seasonal variations. Elevation is the key factor. Conditions become cooler and wetter the higher you go. The many life zones (4,000 ft - 11,000 ft) reveal an abundance of wildlife.

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