A bumper sticker seen around Nevada in recent years proclaims, "It's not a good basin, it's a Great Basin."
Gretchen Baker of White Pine County discovered that on her own.
An ecologist at Great Basin National Park and the author of "Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Surrounding Area," Baker realized after all her research that a children's book about the Great Basin was in order.
Just out is "The Great Basin for Kids," (Gretchen M. Baker, $12.95 paperback), written by Baker and illustrated by Matthew Schenk. It's a small book — 40 pages, but it's full of maps, facts and activities giving a kids-eye view of Nevada and neighboring states that contain part of the Great Basin — Oregon, Idaho, Utah and California.
"Two years ago, I published the Great Basin National Park guide and it was a lot of fun to research," Baker said. "But what was there for kids? There was no book.
"I had done a lot of research, so I put that into a format, including a lot of area besides the park," she said.
"The Great Basin for Kids" starts off with "What is the Great Basin?" an explanation of what's there and how it works. Sixteen small chapters follow that tell about fossils, caves, volcanic features and glaciers, lakes, dunes, sagebrush, playas, mountains and wet places, such as aquifers and springs.
People of the Great Basin include Native Americans, explorers, settlers, miners, cowboys and the Pony Express.
Each section contains facts and maps about the subject and suggestions of places to visit. In the section of lakes, the map points the Great Salt Lake, Mono and Owens lakes in California, Lake Manly in Death Valley, and Pyramid and Walker lakes in Nevada.
"I really fell in love with the playas as I was doing this," Baker said. "When you go by on the road, it's one thing, but when you go (into the playa), the textures are amazing. Sometimes there are animal foot prints. It's not just dry barren wasteland; animals live on these playas.
"I learned too; I had no idea that over 20 percent of the Great Basin is volcanic," she said. "It kind of woke me up. It was a good journey. It's not just for kids, but for everyone.
Baker also learned about the emigrant trails through the Great Basin, such as the California, Oregon and Overland.
For part of this research, Baker took her family to the Oregon/California Trails Center in Montpelier, Idaho.
"We got into a wagon; my daughter found it a little scary," Baker said. "It made a big impression traveling in a wagon bumping along. It would have been scary on the trail, not knowing what was out there."
Baker has lived near Great Basin National Park for more than 10 years. She and her husband and two children live in Snake Valley.
The book isn't just for kids, Baker said.
"I'm trying to stress in the book the maps and features about where to go... so people can learn where they are."
For information on where to find "The Great Basin for Kids," visit http://gretchenbaker.com.