Owyhee Desert

Owyhee [ ˌ hi ː ɒwaɪ / ˌ i ː ɒwaɪ ] is a dry desert with an area of 36,000 km ² in northern Nevada, southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Columbia Plateau - southwest Idaho's capital, Boise - and extends east of the Santa Rosa Range and west of the Independence Mountains ( reaching at Matterhorn 3304 meters altitude). In the south of the desert adjacent to the Great Basin. The area is located at an average altitude of 1600 m above sea level. The desert is drained by the Owyhee River, a tributary of the Snake River. The majority of the area is owned by the Federal government and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Flora and Fauna

The largely unspoilt landscape that is cut by canyons, is characterized by wide dry grass landscapes, which are used as ranch land. The most important representatives of the fauna are coyotes and rabbits, gray squirrels and small rodents as well as lizards and rattlesnakes.

Resident

On both sides of the border of Nevada and Idaho is located on the Owyhee River, the Duck Valley Indian Reservation (about 1200 km ²), where Shoshone settle and Owyhee, Nevada ( 1,150 inhabitants ), the largest town in the Owyhee Desert is located. Passes through the area only around 300 km long, paved road, which connects Boise with Elk on the Humboldt River and passing through the place Owyhee. Politically, the desert in Nevada is one of Elko County, Idaho Owyhee County and to Oregon to Malheur County.

The name of the desert is an older form of the name of the island of Hawaii, as the first trappers who explored the area in 1819, were Hawaiians. About four-fifths of the population are white, one-fifth of Hispanics, the Indian population is now only represent a tiny minority