- Carson Sink
Carson Sink is a large
playa , approximately 300 sq mi (780 km²) in area, in theLahontan Valley of northwesternNevada . It was formerly the terminus of theCarson River , but is currently fed by drainagecanals of theTruckee-Carson Irrigation District . The southeastern fringe of the sink where the canals enter is now characterized by shallow artificial lakes and sloughs, which are mostly covered by theFallon National Wildlife Refuge and theStillwater Wildlife Management Area , and are an important stopover for migrating waterfowl.The Carson Sink is geographically bounded by the
West Humboldt Range to the north, and theStillwater Range to the east. To the south the land raises slightly, and is extensively farmed. To the west lies theForty Mile Desert , so named because along that section of theCarson River Route of theCalifornia Trail one had to travel roughly forty miles between the last drinkable water on theHumboldt River to the first drinkable water on theCarson River . That was a great hardship toCalifornia bound immigrants in the 1840s and 1850s, many of whom were already near starvation by the time they reached it.In 1984 the natural dike between the Carson Sink and the
Humboldt Sink was breached by theNevada Department of Transportation to preventInterstate 80 and the town of Lovelock from flooding due to unusually heavy snowfall in the preceding three years. The sinks remained connected by water until 1987.The Carson Sink and the Lahontan Valley form the central portion of the lakebed of the prehistoric
Lake Lahontan , which existed in northwestern Nevada at the end of the last ice age, between 20,000 and 9,000 years ago.The north central portion of the sink is used as a bombing range by aircraft operating out of
Naval Air Station Fallon . This range is officially designated B-20, but is commonly known as 'Lone Rock' after a solitary pinnacle of rock that extends through the playa. The Lone Rock is held sacred by thePaiute . In July 1952, the sink was the site of a famous UFO incident, called theCarson Sink Case .External links
* [http://www.xphomestation.com/nvsta-carsonsink.html Carson Sink Station on Pony Express]
* [http://www.rangerovers.net/expeditions/lakelahontan/ Exploring Nevada's Ice Age Lake: Carson Sink]
* [http://www.emigranttrailswest.org/crscenes2.htm Carson Trail]
* [http://www.nicap.org/carson.htm The Carson Sink Case]
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