2006 39c Great Basin, Largest Desert

 

Issue Date: May 27, 2006
City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 204,000,000
Printed by: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforation: Serpentine die cut 10 ¾
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Issue Date: May 27, 2006
City: Washington, DC
Quantity Issued: 204,000,000
Printed by: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforation: Serpentine die cut 10 ¾
Color: Multicolored

 

The Great Basin is the largest desert in the United States. It includes most of the state of Nevada as well as significant areas of Utah, Idaho, California, and Oregon. The Great Basin encompasses nearly 200,000 square miles, which makes it larger than the state of California but somewhat smaller than Texas.

 

The region is actually formed by a series of basins. The Great Basin’s deepest depression is Death Valley, which lies 282 feet blow sea level. Death Valley also has the distinction of being the lowest elevation in the entire western hemisphere.

 

The Great Basin is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, the Columbia Plateau, and the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. Melting snow and rain from the higher elevations trickle into streams and lakes within the basin but are quickly evaporated.

 

Approximately 7 to 12 inches of precipitation falls in the area annually. Unlike the three remaining North American deserts, precipitation in the Great Basin is distributed evenly throughout the year. The Great Basin is classified as a “cold” desert since its precipitation tends to be in the form of snow instead of rain. The reason for this is the region’s northern latitude and its higher elevations.