The Smoke Creek Desert is an arid region of northwestern Nevada, that lies about 60 miles (97 km) to the north of Pyramid Lake, west of the Fox Range and east of the Smoke Creek Mountains.

The original Smoke Creek Desert is shown on John Charles Frémont's map of the area during his 1843-44 expedition as a lake west of "Mud Lake", which was an early name for the Black Rock Desert.

The other major name for the desert which has been shown on many maps starting in the early 1850s is "Alkali Lake".

Other history says that it was named variously for the appearance of the basin to fill in the colder months with steam from the hot springs, or show columns of 'smoke' (water vapor) from the individual hot springs as they rose into the cold clear air of the valley.

Alternately it is said that the name comes from the dust and 'dust devils' which the wind would pick up during the hot summer months and make the basin appear as though it was filled with 'smoke'.