INTRODUCTION For many people the state of Nevada centers on the glittering city of Las Vegas This year-round desert resort is famous for wedding chapels in which Elvis impersonators conduct the ceremonies It is also known for its gambling casinos and grand hotels including one that is a glass replica of the Great Pyramid of Egypt But there is more to Nevada than the flash and fantasy of Las Vegas Beyond the blinking neon lights is a diverse land of barren desert snowcapped mountains and thousands of years of history 4 NEVADA Wild horses roam the rangeland of Nevada QUICK FACTS Nevada is the seventh largest state It covers 110,567 square miles Half of the nation’s wild horses and wild burros live in Nevada Nevada’s state song is Home Means Nevada Las Vegas is Nevada’s largest city In 2000 the metropolitan area had more than 1 5 million residents The single-leaf piñon and the bristlecone pine are Nevada’s state trees Bristlecone Pine The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is famous for its gigantic replica of the Egyptian sphinx
INTRODUCTION 5 Nevada lies on rugged highland between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountain ranges It borders California on the west Oregon and Idaho on the north Utah on the east and Arizona on the southeast At one time Nevada was almost impossible to reach Many people died trying to cross the mountains that make up its southwestern border Today interstate highways and airports bring millions of tourists into the state with ease Interstate 80 cuts through the northern part of the state and passes through Reno the main transportation center for northwestern Nevada’s beautiful landscape attracts many tourists to the state Nevada and northeastern California In the south Interstate 15 takes travelers to Las Vegas Three major railroads cross the state QUICK FACTS Nevada’s state motto is All for Our Country It was adopted in 1866 Carson City is Nevada’s capital Nevada’s flag is blue with a silver star set in a wreath of flowering sagebrush in the upper left corner A scroll above the star reads Battle Born and below the star is the name of the state The design was adopted in 1929 and revised in 1991 Nevada’s state bird is the mountain bluebird This brilliantly colored bird feeds on a variety of insects Nevada Location Map OREGON Goose Lake IDAHO C l o v e r C r e e k S o u t h O w y h e e F o r B r u n e a u Quinn k O w y h e e Capital Carson City Interstate highways Scale 0 0 45 72 90 Mi 145 Km U T A H Population 1,998,257 Humboldt Winnemucca 80 80 SS NN II AA Carlin Wells Humboldt Elko Wendover TT NN UU OO Battle Mountain MM e s e e R EE NN OO Austin HH SS OO HH Reese SS k e e r C e n i P EE GG NN AA RR NN AA GG EE McGill Ely Rye Patch Reservoir Pyramid Lake Lovelock Reno Carson Fallon New Washoe City Carson City Yerington Lake Tahoe Walker Lake Hawthorne Mono Lake Gabbs GREAT BASIN NATʼL PARK YOSEMITE NATʼL PARK C A LIF O R NIA Fresno KINGS CANYON NATʼL PARK Kings O w e n s DEATH VALLEY NATʼL MON SEQUOIA NATʼL PARK Bakersfield K ern Santa Ynez Size 110,567 square miles Highest peak Boundary Peak 13,143 feet Tonopah Goldfield Caliente h s a W Meadow Valley 15 St George Virgin Overton Lake Mead Winchester C olo r a d Hoover Dam o R LAKE MEAD NATʼL RECREATION AREA ARIZONA Lake Mojave Las Vegas Paradise Henderson Boulder City Davis Dam Kingman 40 40 Lake Havasu
6 NEVADA QUICK FACTS The only Nevada lake that drains to the sea is Lake Mead formed by Hoover Dam It takes special plants and animals to live in Nevada’s dry environment The kangaroo rat can live its whole life without ever drinking anything instead getting its water from the plants it eats Mineral production has long been a major industry in Nevada and the state’s early history was largely the story of its mining cycles The area’s first non-Indian settlement was made in 1849 but the population remained sparse until the discovery of the silver deposits called the Comstock Lode in 1859 The opening of the Comstock Lode and other deposits began a 20-year boom From about 1880 to 1900 there was little mining and the population of Nevada declined Another boom began after 1900 with silver and gold strikes at Tonopah and Goldfield and the development of copper mining at Ely Another decrease in mining occurred in the period between the two world wars World War II brought on a third boom in mineral production After the war the economy thrived on the state’s year-round resorts Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park has 3,000-year-old rock art left by ancient peoples
INTRODUCTION 7 Nevada’s climate and land have historically been tough on residents The desert was too dry to live on or to farm The mountains were cold and travel through them was difficult Nevadans have found special ways to cope with the difficult climate Cities have been built on the sand Water has been transported to irrigate crops in the desert The mountains have become sites for resorts that draw people from across the world Nevada’s official nickname the Silver State recalls its early mining history The nickname Sagebrush State comes from Nevada’s abundant growth of the shrubby gray-green plant called sagebrush Nevada is also sometimes called the Battle Born State because it was admitted to the Union in 1864 during the American Civil War Sagebrush is native to the dry plains and mountain slopes of Nevada and other parts of western North America QUICK FACTS Nevada gets its name from its snowcapped mountains The Spanish word nevada means snow covered The desert bighorn sheep is Nevada’s state animal It survives well in Nevada because it requires little drinking water Sand Mountain located near Fallon is a 600-foot-high 2 5-mile-long sand dune
