Discoveries…America National Parks: Great Basin

Subtitled “Caves, Trains & Wide Open Spaces,” the latest entry in filmmakers Jim and Kelly Watt's high-def filmed Discoveries…America National Parks series takes viewers to the Great Basin—a vast, 200,000-plus square mile area of the Western United States' high desert region. With its boundaries stretching over most of Nevada, and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and a slice of eastern California, the Great Basin covers more than 20 percent of U.S. land. What makes it a basin? Instead of waterways draining into the ocean, all of the water in the Great Basin drains into itself—with moisture either working back into the soil, or evaporating under the hot sun. The Great Basin National Heritage Area is featured here, which preserves what is considered the classic Western landscape, and includes what is termed America's loneliest road—U.S. Route 50, which has a 350-mile stretch with only six towns (meaning 60-100 miles between gas stations and munchie stops). Within the Heritage Area lies Great Basin National Park, a microcosm of the Great Basin, with groves of indigenous bristlecone pines (some dating back more than 4,000 years) and the spectacular Lehman Caves (formed from marble and limestone 550 million years ago), among other notable features. A majestic travelogue sure to appeal to armchair travelers, this is recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)