Great Basin

Great Basin
Endorheic basin
Relief map with Great Basin overlay
Coordinates: 40°40′N 117°40′W / 40.667°N 117.667°W / 40.667; -117.667
Location	United States, Mexico
Area
• Total	209,162 sq mi (541,730 km2)[1]
Highest elevation	14,505 ft (4,421 m) (Mount Whitney summit)

The Great Basin (Spanish: Gran Cuenca) is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted for both its arid climate and the basin and range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin in Death Valley to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than 100 miles (160 km) away at the summit of Mount Whitney. The region spans several physiographic divisions, biomes, ecoregions, and deserts.