Escalante Desert

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Escalante Desert
arid region
Name origin: Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, who explored the area in 1776
Country United States
State Utah
Part of Escalante Desert-Sevier Lake watershed[1]
of Basin and Range Province
Highest point
 - location peripheral range
 - elevation 5,700 ft (1,737 m)
Lowest point [2]
 - location in Lund Flats ~1 mi northwest of Lund
 - elevation 5,069.5 ft (1,545 m)
Area 3,270 sq mi (8,469 km2) [3]
Biome Deserts and xeric shrublands
Points associated with the Escalante Desert[4]
Escalante Desert looking southwest from the Lund Highway

The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin region and arid desert ecoregion, in the Deserts and xeric shrublands Biome, located in southwestern Utah.

Geography

The Escalante Desert is northwest of Cedar City in Iron County, Utah, and extends into part of Millard County.[4] The region spans most of Iron County, which annually has 13 inches (330 mm) rainfall and 5.9 feet (1.8 m) snowfall.[5] The Escalante region also lies primarily between State Route 56 and Route 21, as well as north and west of Interstate 15.

From the Escalante Desert region's peripheral ridges, the elevation slowly declines to Lund Flats (38°01′19″N 113°26′20″W / 38.02194°N 113.43889°W / 38.02194; -113.43889),[4] which has railroad tracks between Milford and Lund.

Subsidence

Near Beryl Junction (37°42′34″N 113°39′22″W / 37.70944°N 113.65611°W / 37.70944; -113.65611)[4] are 3 fissures formed by suspected groundwater-related subsidence caused by groundwater extraction for agricultural irrigation.[6]

References



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