Nevada Summary

The Spanish first explored Nevada in the seventeenth century, and it remained part of New Spain’s territory until it was ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848. When silver was discovered near Virginia City in 1859, prospectors blazed the pioneer trails in search of the mother lode.

Nevada’s modern money-seekers largely pursue the elusive jackpots of Las Vegas. Along with Reno, another large gaming town, Vegas is a dazzling oasis in the desert panorama. From the moment you cross the border into Nevada, endless gaming billboards erupt through the desert haze. Gambling is the largest form of commerce, followed by tourism, mining, and ranching.

“The Silver State” covers 110,567 square miles of mostly uninhabitable desert plains and unsullied wilderness areas. In the Great Basin Desert, mountain rivers end their westward journey, forming a series of interior lakes. Near the capital, Carson City, the Sierra Nevada Range spills across from California’s forested border at Lake Tahoe. To the south, the Mojave Desert sits at the lowest point of the state in temperatures frequently above 120\260F. Most of the desert remains under military command, including Nellis Air Force Base.

Though an afternoon mirage projects a forlorn flatness to the landscape, there are more than 300 jagged mountain ranges in the state. Boundary Peak, the highest, rises to 13,143 feet. On the desert flatlands, cacti, sagebrush, and yucca plants flourish against a scattering of Joshua trees. Nevada is also a haven for deer, antelope, bobcats, jackrabbits, and rattlesnakes.

Once inhabited by Paiute, Washo, and Shoshone Native Americans, the state has a current population of almost 2 million people. What it lacks in permanent residents is made up for by the nearly 40 million visitors attracted annually by the call of the slot machines and the promise of superb outdoor recreational opportunities.