Basin and Range ProvinceArticle Free Pass Basin and Range
Province, arid physiographic province occupying much of the
western and southwestern part of the United States. The region
comprises almost all of Nevada, the western half of Utah,
southeastern California, and the southern part of Arizona and
extends into northwestern Mexico. The province has a varied and
remarkable topography consisting largely of numerous small,
roughly parallel mountain ranges (trending north-south)
separated by nearly flat desert plains, or basins. The basins
are generally 4,000–5,000 feet (1,200–1,500 m) above sea level,
and the mountain ranges rise 3,000–5,000 feet above the level of
the basins. The northern half of the province is called the
Great Basin (q.v.). The Sonoran Desert (q.v.) section extends
into Sonora, Mexico, while the Salton Trough extends to the Gulf
of California; the Salton Trough is a concave desert basin that
descends to 235 feet (72 m) below sea level at the Salton Sea.
East of the Sonoran Desert and extendi