I Can See For Miles...

...and miles...
...and miles...

That's basically what I like best about the geology of the area I live in (Nevada in general, the Basin and Range even more broadly), and as I've probably mentioned before, I moved west primarily to get away from what I perceived as an overabundance of biology over geology (see Dana's AW#29 post for more on biology v. geology). I also moved west to return to the general area I grew up in. I've stayed here ever since, except for a brief sojourn in that northern state known as Alaska (Yes, it's a state. Some people Outside — here in the Lower 48 — don't actually know that.)

And so begins my short but sweet post for Accretionary Wedge #29 (almost too late for an entry due to winter weather, winter un-wellness, and winter work), a Wedge which is being hosted this month by Ann at Ann's Musings on Geology & Other Things. The questions? "What Geological features about the area you call 'home' do you love? and what do you not like?"
I love the mountains. (Note the trees and above-tree-line alpine terrain, a sometimes underated or underexplored feature of the Basin and Range.)
I love the valleys. (Note the hot springs in the foreground, a nice and warm geologic feature of the Basin and Range.)
I love viewing the mountains from the valleys. (Note the prominent range-front fault, one of the many fascinating geologic features of the Basin and Range).
I love viewing the mountains and valleys from the tops of mountains whenever possible. (Note that you are looking at the south end of one of those huge Nevada-style, mid-Tertiary calderas to the left of Mount Jefferson, the third highest mountain in Nevada, and also that you are looking at the place where that green helicopter pilot left me out all night many years ago in mid-October. Brr.)
If there's anything about the geology of Nevada and the Basin and Range that I don't like, it's that there is just too much of it for me to see it all!
This post has been brought to you by the Basin and Range of Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona (primarily Nevada in this particular case). Basin and Range also occurs in Mexico, and I've seen a patch of it up in the Yukon (with Artemisia!). [And I forgot Utah!] More on the Basin and Range here. More on the range-front fault shown above here.
Basin and Range! Yeah!!