Basin and Range National Monument is in the southeastern part of the state of Nevada , in the southwestern United States. The monument lies in the Great Basin , a large desert region that covers most of Nevada and parts of several adjoining states. The monument preserves an area that features desert wildlife, mountainous terrain, and a wide array of prehistoric rock art.
Much of the monument’s area lies within the lowlands of the Garden and Coal valleys. These valleys and other lowlands lie between the Golden Gate, Grant, Mount Irish, Pahroc, Quinn Canyon, Seaman, Timpahute, and Worthington mountain ranges. The area features a variety of plant and animal life, including 2,000-year-old bristlecone pine trees, rare birds called greater sage grouses, and pygmy rabbits. Visitors to the monument can enjoy such activities as camping, hiking, hunting, mountain biking, and spelunking (cave exploring).
The monument has archaeological sites that date to human habitation of the area more than 8,000 years ago. A number of sites feature such rock art as pictographs (pictures used as written symbols) and petroglyphs—that is, pictographs carved into rock. The monument also includes the remains of later Native American sites and Mormon pioneer settlements from the 1800’s. President Barack Obama created the monument by presidential proclamation in July 2015. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management manages the monument.
