The Dixie Valley is an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin (; also spelled endoreic basin or endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into la ...

which had plentiful ground water (free-flowing artesian wells) around which ranches were built. Prior to the US Navy TOPGUN school moving from California to Nevada, the valley was purchased in 1995 for $100 million and is used as an electronic warfare range for nearby Fallon Naval Air Station. The watershed has a floor of greater than elevation which has both the Lahontan Salt Shrub Basin and Lahontan Playa ecoregions of the Central Basin and Range. At higher elevations the area has Lahontan Sagebrush Slope (west) and Central Nevada High Valley (east) ecoregions that respectively transition to the mountainous Lahontan Upland and Central Nevada Mid-Slope Woodland & Brushland ecoregions (the latter's summits are

Central Nevada Bald Mountain Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

ecoregions). Dixie Valley is distinguished from all of the other valleys in West Central Nevada because it sits at approximately 3300 feet at its lowest point, while even the lowest of the rest of the surrounding valleys are at least at 3800 feet. The

Dixie Valley toad The Dixie Valley toad (''Anaxyrus williamsi'' or ''Bufo williamsi'') is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Churchill County in the state of Nevada in the United States. It was the first new toad species to be described ...

is an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

in the area.

Dixie Valley military range

The military range in Dixie Valley is part of th
Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC)
and contains a simulated air defense network, including approximately 20 operational

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

installations and many demilitarized

armored vehicle Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighti ...

s have been scattered throughout the area. Most of this area is publicly accessible, with the exception of areas immediately surrounding the radar installations.

References

{{Great Basin watersheds, state=collapsed Valleys of Churchill County, Nevada vo:Dixie Valley