What is unusual about the Great Basin region?

Its rivers do not flow to the ocean

It is below sea level everywhere

Great Basin National Park Quiz: Lehman Caves and Wheeler Peak

This Great Basin National Park quiz explores eastern Nevada's quiet park of caves, peaks and ancient trees. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the 1986 founding, what makes the Great Basin unusual, Wheeler Peak, Absalom Lehman, rare cave shields, bristlecone pines, the Prometheus tree, a rock glacier and its dark skies.

Start Great Basin National Park Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

State
Which state is Great Basin National Park in?
Year
When did it become a national park?
Basin
What is unusual about the Great Basin region?
Peak
Which mountain rises over 13,000 feet in the park?
Cave
Which caves are the park's highlight?
Finder
Who popularized Lehman Caves in the 1880s?
Shields
Which rare formations is Lehman Caves famous for?
Trees
Which ancient trees grow near Wheeler Peak?
Prometheus
What happened to the tree called Prometheus in 1964?
Ice
Which unusual ice feature lies under Wheeler Peak?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which state is Great Basin National Park in?
Answer: Nevada
It is near the Utah border.
Q2: When did it become a national park?
Answer: 1986
It is one of the less visited parks.
Q3: What is unusual about the Great Basin region?
Answer: Its rivers do not flow to the ocean
Water drains into inland lakes or evaporates.
Q4: Which mountain rises over 13,000 feet in the park?
Answer: Wheeler Peak
Trails lead to its summit.
Q5: Which caves are the park's highlight?
Answer: Lehman Caves
They are one cave despite the name.
Q6: Who popularized Lehman Caves in the 1880s?
Answer: Absalom Lehman
He was a local rancher.
Q7: Which rare formations is Lehman Caves famous for?
Answer: Shields
They look like flat disks.
Q8: Which ancient trees grow near Wheeler Peak?
Answer: Bristlecone pines
Some are thousands of years old.
Q9: What happened to the tree called Prometheus in 1964?
Answer: It was cut down
It was later found to be nearly 5,000 years old.
Q10: Which unusual ice feature lies under Wheeler Peak?
Answer: A rock glacier
Ice moves beneath a rock cover.

Lehman Caves, Wheeler Peak and Ancient Pines

Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada was created in 1986. It sits in the Great Basin, a huge region where rivers do not reach the ocean; water drains into inland lakes or evaporates. Wheeler Peak rises over 13,000 feet, and a rock glacier, ice moving beneath a cover of stones, lies beneath it.

Lehman Caves, popularized by rancher Absalom Lehman in the 1880s, is really one cave filled with stalactites, columns and hundreds of rare shields, flat disk-like formations whose origin still puzzles scientists. Ranger-led tours take visitors through decorated rooms.

Near Wheeler Peak grow Great Basin bristlecone pines, some of the oldest living things on Earth. In 1964 a tree called Prometheus was cut down for study and later found to be nearly 5,000 years old. Far from city lights, the park offers some of the darkest night skies in the country.

What This Quiz Teaches

Nature fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the park is
What makes the basin unique
What the caves hold
Which trees grow there
Why the skies are dark

Did You Know?

The scenic drive climbs to about 10,000 feet.
An astronomy festival is held each year.
Alpine lakes sit below Wheeler Peak.
The park has very few crowds compared with others.
Mule deer are common along roads.