The story of Great Basin National Park — how a remote Nevada mountain came to hold a cave, a glacier, and the oldest living things on Earth. From the tropical sea that built the rock half a billion years ago, to Lehman Caves and its 300+ rare shield formations, to the bristlecone pines that were already ancient when the pyramids were new — this is the deep history of one of America's youngest and least-visited national parks.

Host Shawn Spainhour, a former Army officer, traces the full arc: the Basin and Range geology that names the region, how slightly acidic water carved a cathedral out of stone, why the bristlecones live 5,000 years, the felling of Prometheus in 1964, and Harry Reid's long fight to protect the whole mountain in 1986.

This is Part 1 of the Wildlands Great Basin series. Part 2 covers planning your visit; Part 3 cover ...