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Nevada Heritage Program

Pluvial Lake Lahontan

During the Pleistocene era, a large lake persisted in what is now the Great Basin. During this epoch, climactic conditions existed such that, there were periods of higher precipitation and considerably less evaporation than modern day. This created a large inland body of water (Lake Lahontan) in the western portion of the Great Basin. Lakes formed in this way are known as Pluvial lakes. Lake Lahontan connected many of the interior valleys within Nevada with water. This lake eventually dried up as the result of climate change, and now the remnants are today expressed as Pyramid and Walker Lakes.

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