Smoke Creek Desert Area

Here Smoke Creek flows through low hills into the relatively flat Smoke Creek Valley. Vegetation in the area is typical of the Great Basin sagebrush community. Basin sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata, is the dominant, with blackbush, Coleogyne ramosissima, and bitter-brush, Purshia tridentata, present, among others. There are some bunch grasses in the sparse vegetation.

Pronghorn, Antilocapra americana, mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, are among the mammals inhabiting the area, as are wild horses, Equus caballus. The sage grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, occurs here.

Much of the area is rocky, with lava outcrops. The lava dates from the Pliocene and Pleistocene. There is a spring in the area, and the creek is normally perennial.

Integrity: Though there has been some grazing, the area has not been severely impacted.

Use: Private

January 1980