Lahontan, Lake

Lahontan, Lake ləhŏnˈtən [key], extinct lake of W Nev. and NE Calif. It was formed by heavy precipitation caused by the Pleistocene glaciers and with Lake Bonneville (see under Bonneville Salt Flats) occupied a part of the Great Basin region. Lake Lahontan vanished shortly after the Pleistocene epoch, but Pyramid, Winnemucca, and Walker lakes and Carson Sink are its remnants. The area, especially Lovelock Cave, Nev., is rich in Pleistocene fossils.

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