Great Basin National Park Quarter
The third quarter to be released in 2013 will be the Great Basin National Park Quarter, and also marks the eighteenth quarter to be released overall in the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. This specific strike honors the national park found in the state of Nevada.
The Great Basin National Park Quarter should be released sometime during the summer of 2013 , although the design selection will occur by late 2012. The Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee and the United States Commission of Fine Arts will review several design candidates for the strike before sending their recommendations to the Treasury Secretary. The Treasury Secretary will take those recommendations, along with the recommendations of the Mint Director and others, and make a final decision as to what will be shown on the reverse of the quarter.
These coins are all issued as part of the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008. This same act authorized silver bullions coins that will feature the same basic designs, but be struck from five ounces of silver to a diameter of three inches.
Two quarters will proceed the Great Basin National Park Quarter and they are the White Mountain National Forest Quarter and the Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial Quarter. Following the Great Basin Quarter will be the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Quarter and the South Dakota Mount Rushmore National Memorial Quarter.
Great Basin National Park information
The Great Basin National Park is located in Nevada, where most would assume it to be an arid desert. However, this park offers some of the most scenic views in the country. It is around 77,000 acres large and located under 300 miles from Las Vegas. This short distance does not mean more tourists, however, as the park only sees around 100,000 visitors a year.
A smaller portion of the Great Basin National Park, the Lehman Caves, was considered part of the national park system in 1922, but the entire 77,000 acres was officially established in 1986. The caves have unique stalactite, stalagmite, and shield formations.
Also making the site different from what one might expect in Nevada, the park is home to vast forests of bristlecone pines, some of which are 5,000 years old. Other forms of plant life are indigenous to the area as well. Since the national park is so remote from civilization, many tourists come to star gaze, as there is no artificial light to interfere with the night sky.