| Tonopah Basin | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Nevada |
| Borders on | N: Central Nevada High Valleys
E: Creosote Bush-Dominated Basins |
| Coordinates | |
| Biome | Central Basin and Range ecoregion |
The Tonopah Basin is one of the Central Nevada Desert Basins[1] that extends from the band of arid footslopes along the north side of the Mojave Desert (e.g., between Sarcobatus Flat and the Amargosa Valley) northward into the Big Smoky Valley and the Railroad Valley. The basin spans longitudes from near Hawthorne, Nevada, on the west to the saddle that demarcates the Pahranagat Valley from the Delamar Valley. Within the perimeter of the basin are separate ecoregions such as three large areas of Tonopah Sagebrush Foothills that surround Tonopah Uplands and a large extension of Central Nevada High Valleys from the north into the basin. The basin has 18 Tonopah Playas (largest in the Railroad Valley east of Lockes, Nevada), and a single wetland fed by the Pahranagat Wash is nearly adjacent to the Mojave.[2] Named sections of the Tonopah Basin include Cactus Flat, Frenchman Flat, Gold Flat, Groom Lake Valley, Kawich Valley, and Yucca Flat.[3]
The Tonopah Playas are 18 Level IV ecoregions that are each bordered by the surrounding Tonopah Basin. The largest is in the Railroad Valley west of Locke, Nevada; and four others on the east of the basin are in Hot Creek Valley (northwest of Warm Springs, Nevada), in the south of Railroad Valley, in Sand Spring Valley, and one farther south near the Mojave. The southernmost is in Sarcobatus Flat which has a semicircle of 5 others to the north. The Big Smoky Valley has 2 Tonopah Playas and west of Tonopa, Nevada, are five Tonopah Playas, including one south of Mina, Nevada.