Nevada
Nevada | |
|---|---|
| Nicknames: The Silver State (official); The Sagebrush State; The Battle Born State | |
| Motto: All for Our Country | |
| Anthem: "Home Means Nevada" | |
 Location of Nevada within the United States | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Nevada Territory, Utah Territory, Arizona Territory |
| Admitted to the Union | October 31, 1864 (36th) |
| Capital | Carson City |
| Largest city | Las Vegas |
| Largest county or equivalent | Clark |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Las Vegas Valley |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Joe Lombardo (R) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Stavros Anthony (R) |
| Legislature | Nevada Legislature |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | Assembly |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court of Nevada |
| U.S. senators | Catherine Cortez Masto (D) Jacky Rosen (D) |
| U.S. House delegation | 1: Dina Titus (D) 2: Mark Amodei (R) 3: Susie Lee (D) 4: Steven Horsford (D) (list) |
| Area | |
• Total | 110,573 sq mi (286,382 km2) |
| • Land | 109,781 sq mi (284,332 km2) |
| • Water | 790 sq mi (2,050 km2) 0.72% |
| • Rank | 7th |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 489 mi (787 km) |
| • Width | 322 mi (519 km) |
| Elevation | 5,510 ft (1,680 m) |
| Highest elevation | 13,147 ft (4,007.1 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 482 ft (147 m) |
| Population (2025) | |
• Total |  3,282,188[3] |
| • Rank | 31st |
| • Density | 27/sq mi (10.3/km2) |
| • Rank | 42nd |
| • Median household income | $76,400 (2023)[4] |
| • Income rank | 24th |
| Demonym | Nevadan |
| Language | |
| • Official language | None |
| Time zones | |
| most of state | UTC−08:00 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| West Wendover | UTC−07:00 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | NV |
| ISO 3166 code | US-NV |
| Traditional abbreviation | Nev. |
| Latitude | 35° N to 42° N |
| Longitude | 114° 2′ W to 120° W |
| Website | nv |
| List of state symbols | |
|---|---|
| Song | Home Means Nevada |
| Living insignia | |
| Bird | Mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides) |
| Fish | Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi) |
| Flower | Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) |
| Grass | Indian Rice Grass |
| Insect | Vivid Dancer Damselfly (Argia vivida) |
| Mammal | Desert bighorn sheep |
| Reptile | Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) |
| Tree | Bristlecone pine, Single-leaf Piñon (Pinus monophylla) |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Beverage | Picon Punch |
| Color(s) | Silver, Blue |
| Fossil | Ichthyosaur (Shonisaurus popularis) |
| Gemstone | Virgin Valley Black Fire Opal |
| Mineral | Silver |
| Rock | Sandstone |
| Soil | Orovada series |
| Other | Element: Neon |
| State route marker | |
 | |
| State quarter | |
 Released in 2006 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
Nevada (/nə.ˈvæd.ə/ ⓘ, nə-VAD-ə;[5][6] Spanish: [ne.ˈβa.ða] ⓘ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It is also sometimes placed in the Mountain West and Southwestern United States. It borders Idaho to the northeast, Oregon to the northwest, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive and the 31st-most populous U.S. state. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's population live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area.[7] Nevada's capital is Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state.
Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle Born State" because it achieved statehood during the Civil War; as the "Sagebrush State", for the native plant of the same name; and as the "Sage-hen State".[8] Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes inhabit what is now Nevada. The first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada (snowy) because of the snow which covered the mountains in winter, similar to the Sierra Nevada in Spain. The area formed from mostly Alta California and part of Nuevo México's territory within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which gained independence as Mexico in 1821. The United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of the New Mexico and Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, as the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War (the first being West Virginia).[9]
Nevada is known for its libertarian laws. In 1940, with a population of just over 110,000 people, Nevada was by far the least-populated state, with less than half the population of the next least-populous state, Wyoming.[10] However, legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce laws transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination in the 20th century.[11][12] Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legal, though it is illegal in its most populated regions – Clark County (Las Vegas), Washoe County (Reno) and Carson City (which, as an independent city, is not within the boundaries of any county). The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer,[13] with mining continuing as a substantial sector of the economy: Nevada is the fourth-largest producer of gold in the world.[14]
The state's name means "snowy" in Spanish, referring to Nevada's extensive number of mountain ranges capped with snow in winter, which help make Nevada among the highest US states by mean altitude. These include the Carson Range portion of the Sierra Nevada (and about 1/3 of Lake Tahoe by surface area), as well as the Toiyabe Range, Ruby Mountains, and Spring Mountains (which exemplify the sky islands of the Great Basin montane forests), in western, central, northeastern, and southern Nevada, respectively. Nevada is the driest U.S. state, both lying in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada and receiving among the highest solar irradiance of any U.S. state, and is thus largely desert and semi-arid. Nevada comprises the majority of the Great Basin, as well as a large portion of the Mojave Desert. In 2020, 80.1% of the state's land was managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.[15] Droughts in Nevada, which are influenced by climate change, have been increasing in frequency and severity,[16] putting a further strain on Nevada's water security. Nonetheless, Nevada is among the leaders in adapting to climate change, including via climate science at Desert Research Institute, extensive water recycling in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, voter-mandated investment in solar power, hosting leading electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem resources at the largest industrial park in the U.S., and developing the largest lithium mine in the U.S. for use in electric batteries.
Etymology
The name "Nevada" comes from the Spanish adjective nevada ([neˈβaða]), meaning "snowy" or "snow-covered".[17] The state takes its name from the Nevada Territory, which in turn may have been named either for the Sierra Nevada (Spain) mountain range, or for the Sierra Nevada mountain range lying mostly in neighboring California, or just as a descriptive name for a range of snowy mountains.[18] A number of other mountain ranges in Spanish-speaking countries are also named "Sierra Nevada".
Standard pronunciation
Nevadans typically pronounce the second syllable with the "a" of "apple" (/nəˈvædə/). Despite this, some people from outside of the state pronounce it with the "a" of "palm" (/nəˈvɑːdə/).[19] Although the quality, but not the length, of the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation (Spanish /a/ is open central [ä],[20] whereas American English /ɑː/ varies from back [ɑː] to central [äː]),[21] it is not the pronunciation used by Nevadans. State Assemblyman Harry Mortenson proposed a bill to recognize the alternative pronunciation of Nevada,[22] though the bill was not supported by most legislators and never received a vote. The Nevadan pronunciation is the one used by the state legislature. At one time, the state's official tourism organization, TravelNevada, stylized the name of the state as "Nevăda", with a breve over the a indicating the locally preferred pronunciation,[23] which was also available as a license plate design until 2007.[24]
History
Indigenous history
Before the arrival of Europeans, the earliest inhabitants were Indigenous tribes including the Goshute, Southern Paiute, Mohave, and Wašišiw (Washoe people).[25][26]
Before 1861
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Francisco Garcés was the first European in the area.[27] Nevada was annexed as a part of the Spanish Empire in the northwestern territory of New Spain. Administratively, the area of Nevada was part of the Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Nevada became a part of Alta California (Upper California) province in 1804 when the Californias were split. With the Mexican War of Independence won in 1821, the province of Alta California became a territory (state) of Mexico, with a small population.
Jedediah Smith entered the Las Vegas Valley in 1827, Peter Skene Ogden traveled the Humboldt River in 1828, and in 1829 a merchant from Nuevo México named Antonio Armijo streamlined travel along the Old Spanish Trail. Chronicling Armijo's route his scout Raphael Rivera was the first to name Las Vegas, in an 1830 report to governor José Antonio Chaves. Following the suggestions by Rivera of a spring, on the published expedition's map, located in the Las Vegas area John C. Frémont set up camp in Las Vegas Springs in 1844. In 1847, Mormons established the State of Deseret, claiming all of Nevada within the Great Basin and the Colorado watershed. They built the first permanent settlement in what is now Nevada, called Mormon Station (now Genoa), in 1851. Additionally, in June 1855, William Bringhurst and 29 other Mormon missionaries built the first permanent structure, a 150-foot square adobe fort, northeast of downtown Las Vegas, converging on the Spanish and Mormon Roads. The fort remained under Salt Lake City's control until the winter of 1858–1859, and the route remained largely under the control of Salt Lake City and Santa Fe tradespersons.
As such, these pioneers laid the foundation for the emergence of the initial settlements between the Sierra Nevadas and Mojave Desert and within the Las Vegas Valley. The enduring influence of New Mexico and Utah culture has since profoundly impacted Nevada's identity, manifesting through New Mexican cuisine and Mormon foodways or New Mexican and Mormon folk musics, into the fabric of Nevada's own cultural landscape.
As a result of the Mexican–American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico permanently lost Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. As part of the Mexican Cession (1848) and the subsequent California Gold Rush that used Emigrant Trails through the area, the state's area evolved first as part of the Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory, then the Nevada Territory (March 2, 1861; named for the Sierra Nevada).[28]
The first discovery of a major U.S. deposit of silver ore occurred in Comstock Lode under Virginia City, Nevada, in 1859.
Separation from Utah Territory
On March 2, 1861, the Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory and adopted its current name, shortened from The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snow-covered mountain range"). The 1861 southern boundary is commemorated by Nevada Historical Markers 57 and 58 in the Lincoln and Nye counties.
Statehood (1864)
Eight days before the presidential election of 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the Union, despite lacking the minimum 60,000 residents that Congress typically required a potential state to have in order to become a state.[29] Only 40,000 inhabitants lived in Nevada at the time.[30] Governor James W. Nye was frustrated that previous attempts to send the constitution via overland mail and by sea had failed by October 24, so on October 26 the full text was sent by telegraph at a cost of $4,303.27[31][c] – the most costly telegraph on file at the time for a single dispatch, equivalent to $88,583.27 in 2025. Finally, the response from Washington came on October 31, 1864: "the pain is over, the child is born, Nevada this day was admitted into the Union". Statehood was rushed to the date of October 31 to help ensure Abraham Lincoln's reelection on November 8 and post-Civil War Republican dominance in Congress,[32] as Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized Union. As it turned out, however, Lincoln and the Republicans won the election handily and did not need Nevada's help.
Nevada is one of only two states to significantly expand its borders after admission to the Union, with the other being Missouri, which acquired additional territory in 1837 due to the Platte Purchase. In 1866, another part of the western Utah Territory was added to Nevada in the eastern part of the state, setting the current eastern boundary. Nevada achieved its current southern boundaries on January 18, 1867, when it absorbed the portion of Pah-Ute County in the Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River, essentially all of present-day Nevada south of the 37th parallel. The transfer was prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and officials thought Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes all of what is now Clark County and the southern-most portions of Esmeralda, Lincoln, and Nye counties.[33]
Mining shaped Nevada's economy for many years (see Silver mining in Nevada). When Mark Twain lived in Nevada during the period described in Roughing It, mining had led to an industry of speculation and immense wealth. Both mining and population temporarily declined in the late 19th century. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900, followed by strikes in Goldfield and Rhyolite, created a second mining boom in Nevada and Nevada's population.
Gambling and labor
Unregulated gambling was commonplace in the early Nevada mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nationwide anti-gambling crusade. Because of subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada again legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. Governor Fred B. Balzar's signature enacted the most liberal divorce laws in the country and open gambling. The reforms came just eight days after the federal government presented the $49 million construction contract for Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam).[35]
Nuclear testing
The Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the city of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951, for the testing of nuclear weapons. The site consists of about 1,350 square miles (3,500 km2) of the desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a 1 kiloton of TNT (4.2 TJ) nuclear bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962, and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for having the highest concentration of nuclear-detonated weapons in the U.S.
Over 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. This is mainly because homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of ranching still prevails).
2020s
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed in Nevada on March 5, 2020. Because of concerns about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Nevada governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency on March 12, 2020. Four days later, Nevada reported its first death. On March 17, 2020, Sisolak ordered the closure of non-essential businesses in the state to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Several protests were held against Sisolak's shutdown order beginning in April 2020. Nevada launched the first phase of its reopening on May 9, 2020. Restaurants, retailers, outdoor malls, and hair salons were among the businesses allowed to reopen, but with precautions in place, such as limiting occupancy to 50 percent. A second phase went into effect on May 29, 2020. It allowed for the reopening of state parks and businesses such as bars, gyms, and movie theaters. Casinos began reopening on June 4, 2020.
Geography
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Nevada is almost entirely within the Basin and Range Province and is broken up by many north–south mountain ranges. Most of these ranges have endorheic valleys between them.
Much of the northern part of the state is within the Great Basin, a mild desert that experiences hot temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter. Occasionally, moisture from the Arizona Monsoon will cause summer thunderstorms; Pacific storms may blanket the area with snow. The state's highest recorded temperature was 125 °F (52 °C) in Laughlin (elevation of 605 feet or 184 meters) on June 29, 1994.[36] The coldest recorded temperature was −52 °F (−47 °C) set in San Jacinto in 1972, in the northeastern portion of the state.[36]
The Humboldt River crosses the state from east to west across the northern part of the state, draining into the Humboldt Sink near Lovelock. Several rivers drain from the Sierra Nevada eastward, including the Walker, Truckee, and Carson rivers. All of these rivers are endorheic basins, ending in Walker Lake, Pyramid Lake, and the Carson Sink, respectively. However, not all of Nevada is within the Great Basin. Tributaries of the Snake River drain the far north, while the Colorado River, which also forms much of the boundary with Arizona, drains much of southern Nevada.
The mountain ranges, some of which have peaks above 13,000 feet (4,000 m), harbor lush forests high above desert plains, creating sky islands for endemic species. The valleys are often no lower in elevation than 3,000 feet (910 m), while some in central Nevada are above 6,000 feet (1,800 m).
The southern third of the state, where the Las Vegas area is situated, is within the Mojave Desert. The area receives less rain in the winter but is closer to the Arizona Monsoon in the summer. The terrain is also lower, mostly below 4,000 feet (1,200 m), creating conditions for hot summer days and cool to chilly winter nights.
Nevada and California have by far the longest diagonal line (in respect to the cardinal directions) as a state boundary at just over 400 miles (640 km). This line begins in Lake Tahoe nearly 4 miles (6.4 km) offshore (in the direction of the boundary), and continues to the Colorado River where the Nevada, California, and Arizona boundaries merge 12 miles (19 km) southwest of the Laughlin Bridge.
The largest mountain range in the southern portion of the state is the