Geology Underfoot in Central Nevada

Most people think of Nevada as a land of casinos and drive-in wedding chapels punctuating vast expanses of desolate desert. But at the heart of the Basin and Range province, the Silver State is also a geologist's playground, with great topographic relief exposing spectacular geology. Cutting a wide swath that straddles U.S. 50, Geology Underfoot in Central Nevada explores 21 diverse walking and driving tours from Lake Tahoe and Reno east to Great Basin National Park. In Ichthyosaur State Park, examine fossil remains of giant sea lizards as you imagine the ocean that covered Nevada more than 200 million years ago. In Great Basin National Park, walk where glaciers sculpted the slopes of 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak, the second highest mountain in Nevada, and go underground in Lehman Caves to marvel at dripstone features called speleothems. South of Carson City, place your hand on an active earthquake fault that continues to lift the Carson Range--evidence that, at least geologically, Nevada is still a work in progress.