<P> The hydrographic Great Basin is a 209,162 - square - mile (541,730 km) area that drains internally . All precipitation in the region evaporates, sinks underground or flows into lakes (mostly saline). As observed by Fremont, creeks, streams, or rivers find no outlet to either the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean . The region is bounded by the Wasatch Mountains to the east, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges to the west, and the Snake River Basin to the north . The south rim is less distinct . The Great Basin includes most of Nevada, half of Utah, substantial portions of Oregon and California and small areas of Idaho, Wyoming, and Mexico . The term "Great Basin" is slightly misleading; the region is actually made up of many small basins . The Great Salt Lake, Pyramid Lake, and the Humboldt Sink are a few of the "drains" in the Great Basin . The Salton Sink is another closed basin within the Great Basin . </P> <P> The Great Basin Divide separates the Great Basin from the watersheds draining to the Pacific Ocean . The southernmost portion of the Great Basin is the watershed area of the Laguna Salada . The Great Basin's longest and largest river is the Bear River of 350 mi (560 km), and the largest single watershed is the Humboldt River drainage of roughly 17,000 sq mi (44,000 km). Most Great Basin precipitation is snow, and the precipitation that neither evaporates nor is extracted for human use will sink into groundwater aquifers, while evaporation of collected water occurs from geographic sinks . Lake Tahoe, North America's largest alpine lake, is part of the Great Basin's central Lahontan subregion . </P> <P> The hydrographic Great Basin contains multiple deserts and ecoregions, each with its own distinctive set of flora and fauna . The ecological boundaries and divisions in the Great Basin are unclear . </P> <P> The Great Basin overlaps four different deserts: portions of the hot Mojave and Colorado (a region within the Sonoran desert) Deserts to the south, and the cold Great Basin and Oregon High Deserts in the north . The deserts can be distinguished by their plants: the Joshua tree and creosote bush occur in the hot deserts, while the cold deserts have neither . The cold deserts are generally higher than the hot, and have their precipitation spread throughout the year . </P>

How is the climate along the coast different from the climate in the great basin