Great Basin

American  

noun

1. a region in the Western U.S. that has no drainage to the ocean: includes most of Nevada and parts of Utah, California, Oregon, and Idaho. 210,000 sq. mi. (544,000 sq. km).

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Great Basin British  

noun

1. a semiarid region of the western US, between the Wasatch and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, having no drainage to the ocean: includes Nevada, W Utah, and parts of E California, S Oregon, and Idaho. Area: about 490 000 sq km (189 000 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

A similar phenomenon heats up Santa Ana winds as air from high above the Great Basin descends and races out to sea.

From Los Angeles Times

"With the Colorado Plateau lifting up, you formed a great basin, and these animals were trapped here. That's something that we have to test out and do more science on, but that's my go-to. The null hypothesis is that they're here because they've always kind of been here."

From Science Daily

“We need more transparency, and we need more accountability,” said Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network.

From Los Angeles Times

The lake, which is about two and a half times saltier than the ocean, is located at the base of the Eastern Sierra, where the mountains meet the Great Basin Desert.

From Los Angeles Times

Those calling for a solution to raise the lake level include leaders of the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, who estimate that the current shortfall leaves exposed about 2 square miles of dust-spewing lakebed.

From Los Angeles Times