The Elko Field Office encompasses 12.5 million acres and has topography typical of the Great Basin with broad valleys separated by mountain ranges. Elevations range from 4,000 to over 10,000 feet. Vegetation types range from salt desert shrub communities to sagebrush and perennial grasses, from cheat grass monoculture to pinion-juniper woodlands and mixed conifer stands.
Elko County lies in the northeastern corner of Nevada. Its county seat of Elko is a bustling town of about 21,000 people, with an additional 15,000 living in the immediate area. Elko is approximately 230 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah, 295 miles northeast of Reno, Nevada, and 255 mile south of Boise, Idaho.
