Geology in Nevada

Discover 28 places to experience unusual geology in Nevada.

Nye County, Nevada

Fang Ridge

Red rock "fangs" jut out of the desert near the Extraterrestrial Highway.

Gabbs Mine

The only United States mine for magnesium carbonate has been operating continuously since the 1930s.

Basin and Range National Monument

A large, remote national monument highlights the typical geologic structure seen in Nevada.

Falls Creek Falls.

Rebel Creek, Nevada

Falls Creek Falls

An unusual waterfall in the Santa Rosa Range, within the Great Basin of Nevada.

Looking due east across the crater; vehicle for scale.

Duckwater, Nevada

Meteorite Crater

Despite the name, it's unclear if this small depression in northern Nye County was actually caused by falling space debris.

Incandescent rocks.

Sutcliffe, Nevada

Incandescent Rocks

Colorful outcrops and cliffs just north of Reno provide a scenic backdrop for hiking and mountain biking.

Fins and weirder shapes.

Bunkerville, Nevada

Little Finland

Harder layers in colorful sandstone weather out as prominent “fins" and even more intricate and bizarre shapes.

The scarp south of Golconda Canyon.

Winnemucca, Nevada

Tobin Range (Pearce) Scarps

The strongest earthquake in Nevada's recorded history left these spectacular breaks along the west front of a range in central Nevada.

Elephant Head Rock, silhouetted.

Gerlach, Nevada

Elephant Head Rock

A remote, little-known natural arch in granite in the desert of northwestern Nevada.

Hiking up Thomas Creek. Looking back into Lamoille Canyon.

Lamoille, Nevada

Lamoille Canyon

Drive up a paved road into "Nevada's Yosemite" for exquisite views and mountain hiking in an alpine setting.

Looking northeasterly along Big Soda Lake.

Soda Lakes

Two craters, which probably erupted within the last 1,500 years and are now filled by alkaline lakes, represent Nevada's youngest known volcanic activity.

Looking out a slot canyon.

Cathedral Gorge

Narrow slot canyons in a badland eroded into soft sedimentary rock provide an otherworldly landscape in this remote Nevada state park.

Fairview Peak scarp.

Fairview Peak-Dixie Valley Fault Scarps

In 1954, two enormous earthquakes occurred just minutes apart, resulting in prominent scarps that extend for miles along the range fronts.

Stump in place.

Gerlach, Nevada

George W. Lund Petrified Forest

A little-known occurrence of fossil wood in northern Washoe County, Nevada, near the Black Rock Desert.

In the lower narrows, looking downstream.

Arrow Canyon

A hidden slot canyon in the southern Nevada desert makes an unexpected oasis and scenic hike.

Near eastern mouth of Thousand Creek Gorge.

Winnemucca, Nevada

Thousand Creek Gorge

A spectacular but little-known slot canyon in extreme northern Nevada, with sheer walls nearly 500 feet high and a perennial stream.