The Great Basin is a huge inland basin that covers parts of six western states. Most of Nevada, a large part of Utah, parts of Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and California are in the Great Basin. Elevation ranges from 282 feet below sea level in Death Valley to 13,000 feet at the summit of Mount Wheeler in Eastern Nevada. Average annual rainfall ranges from over 40 inches in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah to 1.5 inches at Death Valley. Hot summers and cold winters characterize most of the Basin. Floristic assemblage range from alpine tundra, windswept ridges, conifer forests, mountain meadows and brush lands, sagebrush and salt deserts scrub, barren playa, crevice communities, sand dunes, to riparian habitat. This environmental diversity supports an equally high diversity of plants.

UTAH?S CHOICE

Utah?s Choice is a selection of plants that are native to the Intermountain West. The Intermountain West is bordered on the west by the Sierras and on the east by Rocky Mountains. The north end begins in the interior valleys of British Columbia and stretches to the pine forests of northern Arizona. This is a vast area with varied diversity of native plants.

Utah?s Choice is a collections of plants native to the Intermountain West proven for home and commercial landscapes. These plants were selected by members of the Utah State University Center for Water Efficient Landscaping, the Utah Botanical Center, the Utah Native Plant Society, and the Intermountain Native Plant Growers Association. These plants are not only selected because that they look great, but they easy to grow, conserve water, and provide habitat for wildlife.