In far southeastern Nevada, Gold Butte National Monument preserves a remote and rugged desert landscape. Gold Butte isn’t your typical desert, though. It has outcroppings of red and pink rock, sculptural red sandstone piles, mountains rising unto 8,000 feet, and canyons. These features make for a stunning contrast to the desert basin stretching between the Virgin River to Lake Mead. Scattered throughout the basin and rock formations are amazing reminders of the over 10,000 years of people who have called the area home. There are remnants of indigenous … Read the rest
“The vast, rugged landscape redefines our notions of distance and space and brings into sharp focus the will and resolve of the people who have lived here.”
– Presidential Proclamation establishing Basin and Range National Monument.
The Basin and Range National Monument, created by President Obama in 2015, protected 704,000 acres and is an ecological and geological powerhouse, offering unparalleled opportunities for solitude. The Monument includes two large valleys surrounded by eight separate mountain ranges, and is home to much wildlife (including many threatened or sensitive species) and … Read the rest