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The Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and northwestern Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, typified by basin and range
Basin and Range

The Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typified by basin and range topography....
 topography.

province extends east from the Sierra Nevada all the way to the Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a United States physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States....
 and extends south over northern parts of the Baja California Peninsula
Baja California Peninsula

The Baja California peninsula, in English the Lower California peninsula is a peninsula in western Mexico. It extends some 1250 km from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south, separating the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California ....
.






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The Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and northwestern Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, typified by basin and range
Basin and Range

The Basin and Range Province is a large geologic province which includes parts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typified by basin and range topography....
 topography.

Geography

Basin Range Photo
The province extends east from the Sierra Nevada all the way to the Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a United States physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States....
 and extends south over northern parts of the Baja California Peninsula
Baja California Peninsula

The Baja California peninsula, in English the Lower California peninsula is a peninsula in western Mexico. It extends some 1250 km from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south, separating the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California ....
. This covers parts of the U.S. states of Arizona
Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, Idaho
Idaho

The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....
, New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, Oregon
Oregon

Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....
, and Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
 and virtually all of Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
 (a small northern portion of Elko County, Nevada
Elko County, Nevada

Elko County is located in the western U.S. state of Nevada. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 45,291. As of July 1, 2007, the population of Elko County was estimated at 50,434....
 drains to the Snake River
Snake River

The Snake River is a major tributary of the Columbia River in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The river's length is , its drainage basin drains , and the average discharge at its mouth is ....
). Basin and Range topography also dominates large parts of the Mexican states of Sonora
Sonora

Sonora is one of the 31 States of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country....
, Chihuahua, and Baja California
Baja California

Baja California is the northernmost States of Mexico of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California....
. The arid Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
 is part of this province as well as most of the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California....
 and the Chihuahuan Desert
Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. On the United States side it occupies the valleys and basins of central and southern New Mexico, Texas west of the Pecos River and southeastern Arizona; south of the border, it covers the northern half of the Mexico Mexican state of Chihuahua , most of Coahuila, north-e...
s.

Geology

The topography of the Basin and Range is a result of crustal extension within this part of the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
. The cause of this extension is as yet not fully understood, although several hypotheses have been offered. The crust here has been stretched up to 100% of its original width. In fact, the crust underneath the Basin and Range, especially under the Great Basin
Great Basin

The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries depend on how it is defined. Its most common definition is the contiguous drainage basin, roughly between the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah and the Sierra Nevada , that has no natural outlet to the sea....
, is some of the thinnest in the world. Along the roughly north-south-trending faults mountains were uplifted and valleys down-dropped, producing the distinctive alternating pattern of linear mountain ranges and valleys of the Basin and Range province.
Kingston Range From Emigrant Pass

Mineral resources

The Basin and Range province supplies nearly all the copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 and most of the gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
, silver
Silver

Silver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal....
, and barite
Barite

Baryte is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. It is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium. Barite is the unofficial American spelling....
 mined in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. A small amount of petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 is produced within the province, in Nevada
Nevada

Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....
.

See also

  • Geologic timeline of Western North America
    Geologic timeline of Western North America

    A timeline of significant geological events in the evolution of western North America. Dates are approximate. ...
  • Copper mining in Arizona
    Copper mining in Arizona

    Copper mining in Arizona, a state of the United States, has been a major industry since the 1800s. In 2007 Arizona was the leading copper-producing state in the US, producing 750 thousand tonnes of copper, worth a record $5.54 billion....
  • Gold mining in Nevada
    Gold mining in Nevada

    Gold mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, is a major industry, and one of the largest sources of gold in the world. Nevada currently produces 82% of all the gold mined in the United States....
  • Silver mining in Arizona
    Silver mining in Arizona

    Silver mining in Arizona was a powerful stimulus for exploration and prospecting in early Arizona. Cumulative silver production through 1981 totaled 490 million troy ounces ....
  • Silver mining in Nevada
    Silver mining in Nevada

    Silver mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States....


Further reading

  • Basin and Range by John McPhee, Noonday Press, 1990. ISBN 0-374-51690-1
  • Geology of the American Southwest : A Journey Through Two Billion Years of Plate Tectonic History by W. Scott Baldridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-521-01666-5