Northern Nevada is basin and range country, with numerous north-south oriented mountain ranges and intermountain valleys. Elevation varies considerably from mountain tops to valley bottoms, although average elevation tends to increase gradually from the western border to the eastern border.  Base elevation varies from 4,500 feet to 6,200 feet, with an overall average of about 5,000 feet. The environmental zone is upper sonoran desert. Sagebrush chaparral is the predominate vegetation community in the lowlands, with forests of juniper and pinion pine common in the mountains. The climate is arid with abundant sunshine; the air is clean and dry. Precipitation is typically slight, averaging about 9 inches per year in the valleys and lowlands. Summers are short and hot, while winters are generally moderate (except in the northeastern part of the state, where winters can be long and cold). Temperatures are below freezing on the coldest winter days, while temperatures above 100 F occasionally occur in the summer. Average annual temperature is 45 F.

At Battle Mountain, a community in the approximate center of northern Nevada, the average low temperature in January is 26.5 F, the average high temperature in June is 93 F, and there are about 267 days of sunshine.  Average annual precipitation is 7.49 inches, with an average of 17.1 inches of snowfall in the surrounding mountains.