Great Basin Paleoenvironmental Database

Snake Valley is in the Great Basin, a huge geographic area where water doesn't drain out to the seas. As a result, it was one of the last places in the U.S. to be explored. Due to its remoteness and lack of water, it also has been an area of much lower population concentration than many other areas in the U.S. This has resulted in a paucity of information about the Great Basin. Fortunately, over the years, a number of researchers have studied the Great Basin, including what it used to look like. What they've found has been fascinating--huge lakes, very different wildlife than today (imagine relatives of camels, saber-toothed tigers, and more), and a variety of ethnic groups that used the lands in various ways.

Desert Research Institute just announced a new tool where you can look for all that information in one place: the Great Basin Paleoenvironmental Database. From their website you can download a kml file to use on Google Earth to see where different studies were done. They also have an Excel spreadsheet listing the different studies focusing on the paleoenvironment of the Great Basin, plus additional information about the project.