Carson Sink
| Carson Sink | |
| geographic sink | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Nevada |
| Region | Lahontan Basin |
| County | Churchill.[1] |
| Borders on | N: West Humboldt Range E: Stillwater Range SW: Carson Desert W: Forty Mile Desert |
| River | Carson River |
| Location | Lone Rock (landform) |
| - elevation | 3,970 ft (1,210 m) [2] |
| - coordinates | 39°52′40″N 118°20′50″W / 39.87778°N 118.34722°W |
| Area | 300 sq mi (777 km2) |
| Biome | Central Basin and Range ecoregion |
 The Carson Sink and the Lahontan Valley form the central portion of the lake bed of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan.[citation needed]
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Carson Sink is a playa in the northeastern portion of the Carson Desert that was formerly the terminus of the Carson River. The sink is currently fed by drainage canals of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. The southeastern fringe of the sink where the canals enter is a wetland of the Central Basin and Range ecoregion,[3] which is mostly included within the Fallon National Wildlife Refuge and the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area. This area serves as an important stopover for migrating waterfowl. The Sehoo Formation is in the south of the Carson Sink.[4]
[edit] Carson Sink and Lone Rock working areas
The Carson Sink and Lone Rock working areas are the northwest portion of both the Carson Sink and the Fallon Range Training Complex.[5] The Lone Rock working area includes the Bravo-20 range which has numerous targets for combat aircraft training.[5] Lone Rock is in the middle of a Bravo-20 live bombing area[5] and is a solitary pinnacle of rock through the playa that is held sacred by the Paiute.[citation needed]
[edit] History
The Carson Sink was a deep portion of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan,[6] the lakebed of which is now the Lahontan Basin. The Carson Trail used during the California Gold Rush across the Lahontan Basin included a section from through the Forty Mile Desert to the first drinkable water on the Carson River.[7] The Carson Sink station of the Pony Express was built in March 1860.[8] The Carson Sink UFO incident was in July 1952. In 1984 the natural dike between the Carson Sink and the Humboldt Sink was breached by the Nevada Department of Transportation to prevent Interstate 80 and the town of Lovelock from flooding due to unusually heavy snowfall in the preceding three years. The sinks remained connected by water until 1987.
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Carson Sink
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lone Rock (841778)
- ^ Bryce, S.A; et. al (poster), Ecoregions of Nevada, Reston, Virginia: USGS
- ^ Morrison, R. B; Fry, John C (1965). "Correlation of the Middle and Late Quaternary Successions of the Lake Lahontan, Lake Bonneville, Rocky Mountain (Wasatch Range), Southern Great Plains, and Eastern Midwest Areas". Nevada Bureau of Mines. http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/r9.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ a b c Fallon Range Training Complex, Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC)
- ^ Exploring Nevada's Ice Age Lake: Carson Sink
- ^ Carson Trail
- ^ "Carson Sink". http://www.xphomestation.com/nvsta-carsonsink.html. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
