Great basin artist in residency begins . . .

Great Basin blog

9/13/11

Great Basin National Park (GBNP) is a small part of the actual Great Basin, which stretches between California to Utah and Mexico (plus a dash of Oregon and Idaho). Roughly speaking, that's about 150 million acres.

That's a large charge for a relatively small 77,000 acre National Park.

That gives us about a 2,000:1 scale for all us math nerds. In other words, if you put your palm on the ground in GBNP that chunk of earth you have coved up is responsible for representing two thousand times its size, or the handprints of 1,999 other people.

One of the things that fascinates me here is that sense of scale; both the scale of what this park represents as well as the sheer magnitudes of size and age here.

Take Bristlecone pines, for example. Oldest single organisms on earth. Many are 4,000 years or older, although we don't know for sure without cutting them down (which happened to the oldest one we've found so far. Oops).

Rather than living in the arboreal land of milk and honey, they are found at extreme altitudes where the lack of soil, 100mph winds, and sub-zero winter temperatures give a Honey Badger smack-down (YouTube it, you won't be disappointed) to lesser competitors, diseases, and creatures that would end them.

Interestingly, climate change may be the biggest threat to the trees. As it becomes warmer and warmer at these high elevations, it makes infestations and competition from other species possible.

The other thing that strikes me here are the superlatives. Specifically, GBNP has been called both the quietest and darkest place in the continental US, and I believe it. Where I'm staying looks out over a valley that separates us from Utah, and it is quite the experience to look out for miles and miles at night and hear . . . absolutely nothing. I'm sure the folks at the visitor center hear the White Stripes a quarter mile away from my iPod.

There are many folks who have written much more eloquently and profitably than I have about this area. Here are a few I'm reading that I'd recommend:

The Void, The Grid, and The Sign: Traversing the Great Basin by William Fox
A fascinating exploration of the metaphors we use to explain this area; I'd recommend to people who have actually been to some part of the basin and range. Without having the physical experience of being here it wouldn't make any damn sense.

Basin and Range by John McPhee
I love me some McPhee, and this volume doesn't disappoint. It avoids being long, dense, or boring, which has been the fate of many a geology book. His story follows I-80, more or less, and almost makes me want to drive on it.

The Bristlecone Book: A Natural History of the World's Oldest Trees by Ronald Lanner
An interesting quick read on these fascinating creatures, and beautiful photography.

The Sagebrush Ocean: A Natural History of the Great Basin by Stephen Trimble
I know Steve, and the book comes alive for me because I can imagine his voice reading it. He also took the fantastic photos, just to rub it in that he can be the Bo Jackson of the art world.