The Escalante Desert is a geographic Great Basin

Great Basin

The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...

 region and arid desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

, in the Deserts and xeric shrublands

Deserts and xeric shrublands

Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture.-Definition and occurrence:...

 Biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

, located in southwestern Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

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Geography

The Escalante Desert is northwest of Cedar City

Cedar City, Utah

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,527 people, 6,486 households, and 4,682 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,021.8 people per square mile . There were 7,109 housing units at an average density of 353.9 per square mile...

 in Iron County, Utah

Iron County, Utah

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,779 people, 10,627 households, and 8,076 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 13,618 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...

, and extends into part of Millard County

Millard County, Utah

Millard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. In 2010, its population was 12,420. It was named for Millard Fillmore, thirteenth President of the United States. Its county seat is Fillmore and the largest city is Delta.-Geography:...

. The region spans most of Iron County, which annually has 13 inches (330.2 mm) rainfall and 5.9 feet (1.8 m) snowfall. The Escalante region also lies primarily between State Route 56 and Route 21, as well as north and west of Interstate 15

Interstate 15 in Utah

In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 15 runs north–south through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through many of the population centers of that state, including St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, the latter three being part of the urban area known as...

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From the Escalante Desert region's peripheral ridges, the elevation slowly declines to Lund Flats (38°01′19"N 113°26′20"W), which has railroad tracks between Milford

Milford, Utah

Milford is a city in Beaver County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,420 at the 2010 census.-History:Although there were ranches in the area in the 1870s, Milford did not come into being until the arrival of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad in 1880.-Milford Flat...

 and Lund

Lund, Utah

Lund is a small unincorporated village located in the Escalante Valley of northwestern Iron County, Utah, United States, about 35 miles northwest of Cedar City. The town, established in the early twentieth century, was a station stop on the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad , and was a community...

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Subsidence

Near Beryl Junction (37°42′34"N 113°39′22"W) are 3 fissure

Fissure

In anatomy, a fissure is a groove, natural division, deep furrow, elongated cleft, or tear in various parts of the body.-Brain:...

s formed by suspected groundwater-related subsidence

Groundwater-related subsidence

Groundwater-related subsidence is the subsidence of land resulting from groundwater extraction, and a major problem in the developing world as major metropolises swell without adequate regulation and enforcement, as well as a being a common problem in the developed world...

 caused by groundwater

Groundwater

Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...

 extraction for agricultural irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

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