Great Basin National Park - wikipedia Great Basin National Park Not to be confused with Big Basin State Park. Great Basin National Park IUCN category II ( national park ) Bristlecone pine and Wheeler Peak Location White Pine County, Nevada, USA Nearest city Ely, Baker, Border Coordinates 39 ° 00 ′ 21 '' N 114 ° 13 ′ 11 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.00581 ° N 114.21969 ° W ﻿ / 39.00581 ; - 114.21969 Coordinates : 39 ° 00 ′ 21 '' N 114 ° 13 ′ 11 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.00581 ° N 114.21969 ° W ﻿ / 39.00581 ; - 114.21969 Area 77,180 acres ( 312.3 km ) Established October 27, 1986 Visitors 168,028 ( in 2017 ) Governing body National Park Service Website Great Basin National Park Great Basin National Park is a United States National Park located in White Pine County in east - central Nevada, near the Utah border, established in 1986. It is most commonly entered by way of Nevada State Route 488, which is connected to U.S. Routes 6 and 50 by Nevada State Route 487 via the small town of Baker, the closest settlement to the park. The park derives its name from the Great Basin, the dry and mountainous region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains. Topographically, this area is known as the Basin and Range Province. The park is located about 290 miles ( 470 km ) north of Las Vegas and protects 77,180 acres ( 31,230 ha ). The park is notable for its groves of ancient bristlecone pines, the oldest known nonclonal organisms, and for the Lehman Caves at the base of 13,063 - foot ( 3,982 m ) Wheeler Peak. The peak is also home to Wheeler Peak Glacier, which is much further north than Mount Everest and the Himalaya glaciers, so is not the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere, despite claims to the contrary. President Warren G. Harding created Lehman Caves National Monument by presidential proclamation on January 24, 1922. It was designated a national park on October 27, 1986. A number of developed campsites are within the park, as well as excellent back - country camping opportunities. Adjacent to Great Basin National Park lies the Highland Ridge Wilderness. These two protected areas provide contiguous wildlife habitat and protection to 227.8 square miles ( 590.0 km ) of eastern Nevada 's basin lands. Contents 1 Natural history 1.1 Flora 1.2 Fauna 2 Geology 3 Scenic features 3.1 Lehman Caves 3.2 Trails 3.3 Visitor Center 4 Climate 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Natural history Flora Conifers thrive at middle elevations of Wheeler Peak. Eleven species of conifer trees and over 800 species of plants are found in Great Basin National Park and the neighboring valleys. The area around the Visitor Center is dominated by plants such as sagebrush, saltbush, single - leaf pinyon, and Utah juniper. Higher elevations are home to mountain meadows, white fir, quaking aspen, Englemann spruce, and large Ponderosa pine. At treeline is an alpine area of low, delicate plants and rocky outcroppings. Pinus longaeva The oldest non clonal organism ever discovered, a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree at least 5,000 years old, grew at the treeline near Wheeler Peak in the national park. It was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and U.S. Forest Service personnel for research purposes. It was given the nickname Prometheus, after the mythological figure who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. Fauna Sixty - one species of mammals, 18 species of reptiles, 238 species of birds, two species of amphibians, and eight species of fish are in Great Basin National Park and the neighboring valleys. Mammals Townsend 's big - eared bat An abundance of wildlife has taken advantage of the habitat zones in Great Basin National Park. Jackrabbits, pygmy rabbits, mountain cottontails, ground squirrels, chipmunks, and various mice live in the low - elevation sagebrush desert. Pronghorns, coyotes, kit foxes, and badgers are less common inhabitants. In the more rugged areas on the slopes of mountains and in the valley areas nearby, cougars, bobcats, marmots, rock squirrels, and mountain sheep can occasionally be seen throughout this park. Other animals that can be found here include elk, mule deer, spotted skunks, shrews, ringtail cats, and ermine. Fish Stella Lake The Bonneville cutthroat trout is the only fish native to Great Basin National Park. It arrived in the mountain waters naturally and was eventually isolated by changing climatic conditions. Other trout species, such as Lahonton cutthroat, rainbow, brook, and brown trout, were stocked in the lakes and streams of the South Snake Range until the park 's incorporation in 1986. Birds Many species of birds can be found in Great Basin National Park, including Canada geese, hawks, sparrows, bald eagles, tundra swans, barn owls, snow geese, killdeer, golden eagles, woodpeckers, mallards, wrens, greater roadrunners, chickadees, great horned owls, ravens, magpies, and swallows. Amphibians Only two species of amphibians have been positively identified in the southern Snake Range and adjacent portions of Snake and Spring Valleys : the western spadefoot toad ( Spea hammondii ) and the leopard frog ( Rana pipiens ). Geology Park map Many of the rocks formed during the Cambrian, when the region lay at the edge of a continental landmass called Laurentia. These rocks include the Cambrian strata. As the Paleozoic era progressed, several intensified geologic events occurred, including repeated episodes of faulting, and in turn, orogenies which involved upward lifting of a metamorphic core complex, creating mafic and rhyolitic dikes and sills. Extensive volcanism also occurred during the middle to late Cambrian, contributing further to the uplift of the area. This also contributed to a second round of block faulting, in which conglomerates, ash flows, and tuffs accumulated in the Snake Range. Wheeler Peak Both continuous and intermittent fault movements also occurred, with individual fault surfaces on both sides of the Snake Range thinning and stretching. Glaciation Glaciation, mostly during a series of ice ages in the Pleistocene, heavily eroded the peaks of the Snake Range, leaving canyon walls, U-shaped valleys, cirques, and moraines throughout the range. Lehman Caves The Lehman Cave system began forming around 550 million years ago ( during the Cambrian ), while it was still submerged in a relatively warm, shallow ocean. The caves are made up of a marble and limestone solution, for the most part, that forms the many cave decorations throughout the caverns. The cave system became much deeper during the Pleistocene, when a prolonged and increased flow of water eroded through the cave 's fracturing bedrock. Eventually, the water level dropped, leaving glare rooms and cavities in the rock, creating the depths of the Lehman Caves system. Scenic features The park 's scenic features include Lexington Arch, the Lehman Orchard and Aqueduct, Rhodes Cabin, Stella and Teresa Lakes, and Wheeler Peak Glacier. Lehman Caves The `` Cypress Swamp '' along the tourist trail in Lehman Cave The Lehman Caves were originally protected as a National Monument in 1922, which was combined with the national park in 1986. According to the National Park Service, the caves were, most likely, discovered by Absalom Lehman in 1885. Several living creatures occupy the Lehman Caves 39 ° 00 ′ 20 '' N 114 ° 13 ′ 13 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 39.00556 ° N 114.22028 ° W ﻿ / 39.00556 ; - 114.22028. Bacteria are the most common. Crickets, spiders, pseudoscorpions, mites, and springtails may live their full lifecycles in the cave. They are dependent on organic material packed in by other animals or washed in from the surface. Other animals use the cave, but must leave to forage for food. These include chipmunks, mice, pack rats, and several species of bats. Only insectivorous bats occur in the Great Basin. At least 10 species of bats have been found in the vicinity of Great Basin National Park, including the Townsend 's big - eared bat. The Lehman Caves Visitors Center is home to the Forgotten Winchester, a rifle manufactured in 1882 that was found leaning against a juniper tree in the park in 2014. Lexington Arch 38 ° 50 ′ 39 '' N 114 ° 12 ′ 30 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 38.84417 ° N 114.20833 ° W ﻿ / 38.84417 ; - 114.20833 is 13 miles from Utah State Route 21 and one of the largest limestone arches in the western United States. Trails The park has 12 trails ranging from 0.3 to 13.1 miles ( 0.48 to 21.08 km ). Trails range from short nature trails at 6,825 feet ( 2,080 m ) ( Mountain View Nature Trail ), to the Wheeler summit trail starting at 10,160 feet ( 3,097 m ). The Wheeler Summit trail is quite strenuous, and the altitude presents significant hazards for unprepared or inexperienced hikers. Backcountry routes are occasionally maintained throughout the more remote southern portion of the park. A number of these trailheads are accessible by the road that terminates at the primitive Shoshone campground. Visitor Center The Great Basin Visitor Center is located on Nevada State Route 487 in the town of Baker. The Lehman Caves Visitor Center is located on Nevada State Route 488. It is 5.5 miles ( 8.9 km ) from Baker, ⁄ mile ( 800 m ) inside the park boundary. Both centers feature exhibits about the park 's geology and natural and cultural history, as well as theaters with orientation films. The centers are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Great Basin National Park has between 79,000 and 89,000 visitors in a normal year. The park budget for the 2005 fiscal year was $2,189,000. Climate Wheeler Peak and the Snake Range The park lies in an arid region and receives very little rainfall during most of the year. Most precipitation is winter snow or summer thunderstorms. All precipitation in this region evaporates, sinks underground, or flows into lakes. No water reaches the ocean. Winters are cool and summers are mild to hot, yielding a Köppen climate classification of Cfb ( subtropical highland climate ), bordering on Dfa ( hot summer humid continental ), Dfb ( warm - summer humid continental ), and Cfa ( humid subtropical ). Weather can change quickly, especially in the back country or on Wheeler Peak at high elevations. Lehman Caves maintain a fairly constant temperature of 50 ° F ( 10 ° C ) with 90 % humidity year round. The climate varies throughout the park, depending on elevation and location. The following data are for the Lehman Caves Visitor Center only. Higher elevations are cooler and receive more precipitation, whereas lower elevations are hotter and drier. hide Climate data for Great Basin National Park - Lehman Caves Visitor Center ( Elevation 6,840 ft ) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high ° F ( ° C ) 67 ( 19 ) 66 ( 19 ) 74 ( 23 ) 81 ( 27 ) 91 ( 33 ) 97 ( 36 ) 100 ( 38 ) 96 ( 36 ) 93 ( 34 ) 83 ( 28 ) 77 ( 25 ) 67 ( 19 ) 100 ( 38 ) Average high ° F ( ° C ) 40.5 ( 4.7 ) 42.8 ( 6 ) 48.7 ( 9.3 ) 56.7 ( 13.7 ) 66.5 ( 19.2 ) 77.4 ( 25.2 ) 85.7 ( 29.8 ) 83.3 ( 28.5 ) 74.5 ( 23.6 ) 61.7 ( 16.5 ) 48.4 ( 9.1 ) 41.1 ( 5.1 ) 60.6 ( 15.9 ) Average low ° F ( ° C ) 18.9 ( − 7.3 ) 21.2 ( − 6 ) 25.5 ( − 3.6 ) 31.5 ( − 0.3 ) 40.0 ( 4.4 ) 49.0 ( 9.4 ) 57.4 ( 14.1 ) 55.8 ( 13.2 ) 47.0 ( 8.3 ) 37.1 ( 2.8 ) 25.9 ( − 3.4 ) 19.6 ( − 6.9 ) 35.7 ( 2.1 ) Record low ° F ( ° C ) − 20 ( − 29 ) − 15 ( − 26 ) − 2 ( − 19 ) 0 ( − 18 ) 6 ( − 14 ) 14 ( − 10 ) 32 ( 0 ) 32 ( 0 ) 10 ( − 12 ) 6 ( − 14 ) − 12 ( − 24 ) − 19 ( − 28 ) − 20 ( − 29 ) Average precipitation inches ( mm ) 1.05 ( 26.7 ) 1.18 ( 30 ) 1.37 ( 34.8 ) 1.21 ( 30.7 ) 1.24 ( 31.5 ) 0.87 ( 22.1 ) 0.97 ( 24.6 ) 1.18 ( 30 ) 1.08 ( 27.4 ) 1.24 ( 31.5 ) 0.97 ( 24.6 ) 0.96 ( 24.4 ) 13.33 ( 338.6 ) Average snowfall inches ( cm ) 12.8 ( 32.5 ) 13.8 ( 35.1 ) 13.2 ( 33.5 ) 7.1 ( 18 ) ( 5.3 ) 0.2 ( 0.5 ) 0 ( 0 ) 0 ( 0 ) 0.2 ( 0.5 ) 3.7 ( 9.4 ) 8.7 ( 22.1 ) 10.7 ( 27.2 ) 72.6 ( 184.4 ) External images NPS.gov photos Johnson Lake Mine See also Great Basin National Heritage Area References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Basin National Park. ^ Jump up to : `` Listing of acreage as of December 31, 2011 ''. Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 07. Jump up ^ `` NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Geology of the South Snake Range ''. National-park.com Main page. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Top 10 Underappreciated Parks ''. NationalGeographic.com. National Geographic. Retrieved 11 August 2016. Jump up ^ `` Plants ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ Cohen, Michael. `` Oldest Living Tree Tells All ''. Terrain.org. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 21. Jump up ^ `` List of Mammals ''. National Park Service. May 12, 2011. Retrieved 2012 - 03 - 29. ^ Jump up to : `` Mammals ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Fish in the Desert ? ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Birds ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Reptiles and Amphibians of Great Basin National Park and Vicinity '' ( PDF ). National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. ^ Jump up to : National Park Service, `` Great Basin Geology ''. Web. http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/upload/geology.pdf ^ Jump up to : Harris, Ann G., et al. Geology of National Parks, Kendall / Hunt : Iowa, 2005. Print. 663 - 673. Jump up ^ `` Lehman Caves National Monument ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 31 January 2010. ^ Jump up to : `` Lehman Caves Discovery ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Cave Life ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Bats ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 21. Jump up ^ `` ' Forgotten Winchester ' returns to Nevada ''. Elko Daily Free Press. November 23, 2015. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Lexington Arch ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. ^ Jump up to : `` Hiking Trails ''. National Park Service. Jump up ^ `` Operating Hours & Seasons ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Park Statistics ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` The Great Basin ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008 - 11 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Plan Your Visit ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Lehman Caves Tours ''. National Park Service. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 09. External links Find more aboutGreat Basin National Parkat Wikipedia 's sister projects Media from Wikimedia Commons Travel guide from Wikivoyage Official Great Basin National Park website The short film `` Lehman Caves National Monument ( 1971 ) '' is available for free download at the Internet Archive Winchester Model 1873 Rifle Recovered in Great Basin National Park - Official Press Release Protected areas of Nevada Federal National Parks and Monuments Basin and Range NM ( BLM ) Death Valley NP Gold Butte NM ( BLM ) Great Basin NP Tule Springs Fossil Beds NM National Recreation Areas Lake Mead Spring Mountains ( USFS ) National Forests Humboldt - Toiyabe Inyo Lake Tahoe Basin National Conservation Areas Black Rock Desert -- High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails Red Rock Canyon Sloan Canyon National Wilderness Areas Alta Toquima Arc Dome Arrow Canyon Bald Mountain Becky Peak Big Rocks Black Canyon Black Rock Desert Boundary Peak Bridge Canyon Bristlecone Calico Mountains Clover Mountains Currant Mountain Death Valley Delamar Mountains East Fork High Rock Canyon East Humboldt Eldorado Far South Egans Fortification Range Goshute Canyon Government Peak Grant Range High Rock Canyon High Rock Lake High Schells Highland Ridge Ireteba Peaks Jarbidge Jimbilnan Jumbo Springs La Madre Mountain Lime Canyon Little High Rock Canyon Meadow Valley Range Mormon Mountains Mt Charleston Mt Grafton Mt Irish Mt Moriah Mt Rose Muddy Mountains Nellis Wash North Black Rock Range North Jackson Mountains North McCullough Pahute Peak Parsnip Peak Pinto Valley Quinn Canyon Rainbow Mountain Red Mountain Ruby Mountains Santa Rosa - Paradise Peak Shellback South Egan Range South Jackson Mountains South McCullough South Pahroc Range Spirit Mountain Table Mountain Tunnel Spring Wee Thump Joshua Tree Weepah Spring White Pine Range White Rock Range Worthington Mountains National Wildlife Refuges Anaho Island Ash Meadows Desert Fallon Moapa Valley Pahranagat Ruby Lake Sheldon Stillwater State Historic Parks Belmont Courthouse Dangberg Home Ranch Elgin Schoolhouse Fort Churchill Mormon Station Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Ward Charcoal Ovens Recreation Areas Big Bend Lahontan Rye Patch South Fork Walker Lake Wild Horse Other Beaver Dam Berlin -- Ichthyosaur Cathedral Gorge Cave Lake Dayton Echo Canyon Kershaw -- Ryan Lake Tahoe -- Nevada Spring Mountain Ranch Spring Valley Valley of Fire Van Sickle Washoe Lake Previous Floyd Lamb National parks of the United States Acadia American Samoa Arches Badlands Big Bend Biscayne Black Canyon of the Gunnison Bryce Canyon Canyonlands Capitol Reef Carlsbad Caverns Channel Islands Congaree Crater Lake Cuyahoga Valley Death Valley Denali Dry Tortugas Everglades Gates of the Arctic Gateway Arch Glacier Glacier Bay Grand Canyon Grand Teton Great Basin Great Sand Dunes Great Smoky Mountains Guadalupe Mountains Haleakalā Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Hot Springs Isle Royale Joshua Tree Katmai Kenai Fjords Kings Canyon Kobuk Valley Lake Clark Lassen Volcanic Mammoth Cave Mesa Verde Mount Rainier North Cascades Olympic Petrified Forest Pinnacles Redwood Rocky Mountain Saguaro Sequoia Shenandoah Theodore Roosevelt Virgin Islands Voyageurs Wind Cave Wrangell -- St. Elias Yellowstone Yosemite Zion List of national parks of the United States ( by elevation ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Basin_National_Park&oldid=844939939 '' Categories : IUCN Category II Great Basin National Park National parks in Nevada Natural history museums in Nevada Protected areas of White Pine County, Nevada Protected areas established in 1987 Great Basin National Heritage Area Cambrian volcanism Caves of Nevada Landforms of White Pine County, Nevada Museums in White Pine County, Nevada Hidden categories : Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2008 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Català Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Hrvatski Íslenska Italiano עברית മലയാളം Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk پنجابی Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe 中文 16 more Edit links This page was last edited on 8 June 2018, at 06 : 52. 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Question: when did the great basin became a national park
Answer: October 27, 1986