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Ne·vad·a (nə-văd'ə, -vä'də)  (Abbr. NV
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A state of the western United States. It was admitted as the 36th state in 1864. Part of the area ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848, it became a separate territory in 1861 after an influx of settlers drawn by the discovery (1859) of the Comstock Lode. Carson City is the capital and Las Vegas the largest city. Population: 2,570,000.
Nevadan Ne·vad'an or Ne·vad'i·an adj. & n.
| 5min Related Video: Nevada |
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Nevada |
For more information on Nevada, visit Britannica.com.
| US History Encyclopedia: Nevada |
Nevada was the fastest growing state in the United States during the last half of the twentieth century. Its population increased from a mere 160,000 in 1950 to just over 2,000,000 in 2001. It was the thirty-sixth state to be admitted to the Union, its official statehood proclaimed on 31 October 1864, with Carson City designated as its capital.
Early History and Exploration
The area that became Nevada was first inhabited between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, and small stone dart points, called Clovis points, have been found among rock shelters and caves, indicating that early peoples gathered and hunted their food. Around 300 B.C., the culture of the Anasazis appeared; the Anasazis dominated the area for more than a thousand years, living in caves and houses made with adobe and rock and eventually developing a more agriculturally based culture. Migrating tribes replaced the Anasazis, and by the time Europeans first entered the area it was dominated by three Native American tribes—the Paiutes, the Shoshones, and the Washoes. Spanish explorers ventured into areas of Nevada in the late eighteenth century but never established settlements in the mostly arid environment. In 1821, Mexico laid claim to the territory after a successful revolt against Spain, and in 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago ceded the land to the United States.
Much of the Nevada territory had by that time been explored, primarily by Peter Skene Ogden of Canada and the Hudson's Bay Company and Jedediah Smith of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Smith, on his way over-land to California, entered Nevada in the late summer of 1826 (near present-day Bunkerville). In 1827, he traveled east and north from California, across the Sierras and into the central part of Nevada, the first white man to cross the territory. Ogden made three important expeditions, in 1828, 1829, and 1830, discovering the Humboldt River (he called it the Unknown River) and tracing its path from its source to its sink, where the river empties into marshy flats and evaporates.
In 1843 and 1844, John C. Frémont explored the area from the northwestern corner of the state south to Pyramid Lake and then southwest across the Sierras to California, calling it the Great Basin. His publicized expeditions and mappings of the territory helped establish settlements and routes for westward-bound settlers and miners, especially after the discovery of gold in California in 1849.
Statehood and Economic Boom
In 1850, the federal government created the Utah Territory, which included almost all of what is now Nevada. Much of it was Mormon-dominated territory after 1851, but the discovery of gold in the late 1850s drew non-Mormons into western Nevada, including a flood of miners from California who came upon hearing the news of the Comstock Lode silver strike, the richest deposit of silver in American history. After the Comstock, small towns sprang up and Virginia City became an important crossroads, trading post, and mining camp.
The importance of the Comstock silver helped gain approval from the federal government for the creation of the Territory of Nevada in 1861. In 1863, a constitutional convention was held in Carson City and a state constitution was drafted. A bitter battle between those who favored small mining interests and the political power of the large San Francisco mining companies ensued, and ratification of the newly drawn state constitution was hotly contested. Although the majority of residents favored statehood, in early 1864 voters rejected the constitution, effectively ending their chances for admission into the Union. However, the U.S. Congress and President Abraham Lincoln, waging the Civil War (1861–1865) and in need of additional support for the Thirteenth Amendment, strongly desired Nevada's admission into the Union. A second constitution was ratified in March of 1864 and, in spite of not meeting the population requirements for statehood, by October, Nevada was a new state. Its entry into the Union during the Civil War earned it the nickname "The Battle Born State."
The early years of statehood were dominated by economic issues of the mining industry, specifically the silver industry. In 1873, the federal government discontinued the minting of silver coins and the Comstock declined. The 1880s and 1890s were marked by economic depression and a consequent population decrease, but a revival of the mining industry, spurred by silver and copper ore discoveries in southwestern and eastern Nevada, brought in new investment capital, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad caused another boom.
The Twentieth Century
Nevada politics in the twentieth century were dominated by land-use issues. In the early part of the century, federal irrigation projects helped stimulate agriculture, expand farmland, and encourage cattle and sheep ranching. Hoover Dam and the creation of Lake Mead in the 1930s was welcomed for the economic stimulus provided, but other federal projects have been greeted with less enthusiasm. In the 1950s, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted aboveground nuclear tests at Frenchman Flat and Yucca Flat—events that met with little protest at the time but that nonetheless chafe many Nevadans in retrospect. During the 1970s, Nevadans led other western states in an attempt to regain control of the land from the federal Bureau of Land Management. In 1979, the state legislature passed a law requiring the return of 49 million acres of federally owned land to the State of Nevada. The movement, dubbed the "Sagebrush Rebellion," caused a brief controversy and ultimately lost in the federal courts, and the issue remains a sore point for many Nevadans. In 1987, the Department of Energy named Yucca Mountain as its primary high-level nuclear waste depository, a decision the State of Nevada continued to fight at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Economic changes also took place throughout the twentieth century. The 1930s saw a transformation in the Nevada economy. In 1931 gambling was legalized throughout the state, with the exception of Boulder City, where housing had been built for government employees working on Hoover Dam. Earlier in the state's history, as with much of the United States, gambling had been legal. In the early 1900s, however, gambling prohibition swept the country, and in 1910 gambling was outlawed in Nevada. In spite of severe restrictions, illegal gambling still thrived in many parts of the state, especially in Las Vegas. During the Great Depression the need for state revenues and economic stimulus led Nevadans to approve the return of legalized gambling, and Nevada passed some of the most liberal gambling laws in the country.
World War II (1939–1945) brought military air bases to Las Vegas and Reno, and federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, which managed more than 85 percent of Nevada's land, brought public employees and some measure of prosperity to the more urban regions of the state. But it was the tourism industry that was shaping Nevada's economic future. During the 1940s, as other states cracked down on legalized gambling, Nevada's embrace of the gaming industry drew developers and tourists and boosted the state's economy, but it also drew organized crime. Criminal elements from the east coast and from nearby Los Angeles were instrumental in the development of some of the more famous casinos, including The Flamingo, opened in 1946 by New York mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.
After World War II, the gaming and entertainment industries were expanded, especially in Reno, Las Vegas, and on the California border at Lake Tahoe. T he tourism industry benefited from low tax rates, and legal gambling and top entertainers brought in visitors as well as new residents. Although organized crime played a significant role in the early development of Nevada's urban centers, especially in Las Vegas, the federal government pressured the state to strengthen license regulations and by the 1960s the stigma of gangster-owned casinos was on the wane.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Las Vegas and the surrounding area in Clark County grew tremendously and soon became the home of a quarter of the state's residents. Several large hotels and casinos opened and became internationally famous, including The Dunes (1955), The Tropicana (1957), and The Stardust (1958). The 1960s saw the boom continue with the openings of The Aladdin (1963), Caesar's Palace (1966), and Circus Circus (1968). The glamour and legal legitimacy of casinos and hotel resorts began to draw corporate development from beyond the gambling industry, and by 1970 Las Vegas was more associated with billionaire Howard Hughes than with gangsters such as Bugsy Siegel.
Although Nevada's population continued to increase during the 1980s, a sluggish economy meant a decline in casino and resort development. In 1988, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting state income tax. The 1990s saw a burst of development in the Reno-Sparks area and, more dramatically, in Las Vegas and Clark County. Las Vegas reshaped itself as a destination for families, not just gamblers, and many of the old casinos from the 1950s and 1960s were closed and demolished. They were replaced by bigger, more upscale hotels and theme casinos such as The Mirage (opened in 1989), The Luxor (1993), The Monte Carlo (1996), New York-New York (1997), and Paris, Las Vegas (1999). In 1996 The Stratosphere casino was opened in Las Vegas, inside the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
Although much of Nevada is open land, the population is predominantly urban. The state's total area is about 110,000 miles, but because much of the eastern side is federal land designated for military use or grazing and mining territory, the population centers are on the western side, near the California border to the south and west and the Arizona border to the south and east. The city of Las Vegas at the time of the 2000 census had a population of nearly 500,000, but the metropolitan area, including part of northern Arizona, had a total population of over 1.5 million. The Reno-Sparks metropolitan area had a population of 339,486 in 2000.
More than 75 percent of the state's population were born outside Nevada. The 2000 census reported that more than 75 percent of the population identified themselves as white, 6.8 percent as African American, and 4.5 percent as Asian. Those who identified themselves as being of Hispanic ancestry increased from just over 10 percent to more than 19 percent.
Although the service industry, through casinos and resorts, employs most Nevada residents, there is some manufacturing (gaming machines, aerospace equipment, and products related to irrigation and seismic monitoring) and a significant number of employees of the federal government, especially the military. U.S. military installations in Nevada include Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, the Naval Air Station in Fallon, and the Army and Air National Guard Base in Carson City. Perhaps Nevada's most famous military base is the so-called secret or underground base known as "Area 51," located north of Las Vegas near Groom Lake. Self-proclaimed "ufologists" have perpetuated a rumor for decades that Area 51 is the location of nefarious U.S. government schemes that include secret spy planes and an alleged craft from outer space, said to have crashed near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
The state flag, modified in 1991 from the original design approved in 1929, features a cobalt blue background behind a five-pointed silver star that sits forming a wreath between two sprays of sagebrush. Across the top of the wreath it reads "Battle Born" in black letters, with the state name in gold letters below the stars and above the sagebrush. Besides the Battle Born moniker, Nevada is also called "The Silver State" and "The Sagebrush State" (sagebrush is the state flower), and the state motto, of undetermined origin, is "All for Our Country."
Although it consists mostly of mountainous and desert terrain with altitudes between 1,000 and more than 13,000 feet (the state's highest point, Boundary Peak, is 13,145 feet), Nevada also has rivers and lakes. These include the Humboldt, Colorado, and Truckee Rivers and Pyramid Lake (the state's largest natural lake) and Lake Mead (the state's largest artificial lake, backed up by Hoover Dam on the Colorado River), and 5 million acres of designated national forestland.
Bibliography
Elliott, Russell R. History of Nevada. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1973.
Farquhar, Francis Peloubet. History of the Sierra Nevada. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965.
Laxalt, Robert. Nevada. New York: Coward-McCann, 1970.
Smith, Grant H. The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850–1997. Reno: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 1998.
The Official State of Nevada Web Site. Home page at http://silver.state.nv.us/.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Nevada |
Facts and Figures
Area, 110,540 sq mi (286,299 sq km). Pop. (2000) 1,998,257, a 66.3% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Carson City. Largest city, Las Vegas. Statehood, Oct. 31, 1864 (36th state). Highest pt., Boundary Peak, 13,143 ft (4,009 m); lowest pt., Colorado River, 470 ft (143 m). Nickname, Silver State. Motto, All for Our Country. State bird, mountain bluebird. State flower, sagebrush. State tree, single-leaf piñon. Abbr. Nev.; NV
Geography
Most of Nevada lies within the Great Basin of the Basin and Range region of North America. The rivers in the southeast belong to the Colorado River system, while those of the extreme north drain into the Snake. Like the Humboldt, most Nevada rivers go nowhere, ending instead in desolate alkali sinks—except where they have been diverted for irrigation and reclamation, as by the Humboldt project, the Newlands project, and the Truckee River storage project.
The alkali sinks and arid stretches clothed with sagebrush and creosote bush typify Nevada's landscape. Its mountain chains generally run north and south, further segmenting the state. On the California border stand the lofty Sierra Nevada [snowy range]. In the driest state in the nation, days and nights are generally clear. The mean elevation is c.5,500 ft (1,676 m). In the north and west winters reach extreme cold, while in parts of the south the summers approach ovenlike heat.
Carson City is the capital; Las Vegas is the largest city, and Reno the second largest. Outside the cities, visitors are attracted to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, with its facilities for fishing, swimming, and boating; Lake Tahoe and Death Valley National Park, both on the California line; Lehman Caves National Monument; Great Basin National Park; and restored mining ghost towns like Virginia City.
Economy
Many of the high plateau areas are excellent for grazing, and cattle and sheep raising are important industries. Because of the prevailing dryness and the steep slopes, agriculture is not highly developed, but is devoted mainly to growing hay and other feed for cattle; however, potatoes, onions, and some other crops are also cultivated.
Nevada's riches do not grow from its land; rather, almost incredible wealth lies below its surface. Although copper mining is now much less dominant than before, Nevada is the nation's leading producer of gold, silver, and mercury. Petroleum, diatomite, and other minerals are also extracted. The state's manufactures include gaming machines and products, aerospace equipment, lawn and garden irrigation devices, and seismic monitoring equipment. Warehousing and trucking are also significant Nevada industries.
Nevada's economy, however, is overwhelmingly based on tourism, especially the gambling (legalized in 1931) and resort industries centered in Las Vegas and, to a lesser extent, Reno and Lake Tahoe. Gambling taxes are a primary source of state revenue. The service sector employs about half of Nevada's workers. Liberal divorce laws made Reno “the divorce capital of the world” for many years, but similar laws enacted in other states ended this distinction. Much of Nevada (almost 80% of whose land is federally owned) is given over to military and related use. Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site have been the scene of much nuclear and aircraft testing; Yucca Mountain is slated to be the primary depository for U.S. nuclear wastes.
Government and Higher Education
Nevada's constitution was adopted in 1864. The legislature is composed of 21 senators and 42 assembly members. The governor is elected for a four-year term; Bob Miller, a Democrat in office since 1989, was succeeded by Republican Kenny Guinn, elected in 1998 and reelected in 2002. Another Republican, Jim Gibbons, was elected governor in 2006. The state elects two U.S. senators and three representatives and has five electoral votes. Nevada's leading institution of higher education is the Univ. of Nevada, at Reno and at Las Vegas.
History
Early Exploration
In the 1770s several Spanish explorers came near the area of present-day Nevada but it was not until half a century later that fur traders venturing into the Rocky Mts. publicized the region. Jedediah S. Smith came across S Nevada on his way to California in 1827. The following year Peter Skene Ogden, a Hudson's Bay Company man trading out of the Oregon country, entered NE Nevada. Joseph Walker in 1833–34 followed the Humboldt R. and crossed the Sierra Nevada to California.
Later many wagon trains crossed Nevada on the way to California, especially during and after the gold rush of 1849. Travelers going to California over the Old Spanish Trail also crossed S Nevada, and Las Vegas became a station on the route. Guided by Kit Carson, John C. Frémont had explored much of the state between 1843 and 1845, and his reports gave the federal government its first comprehensive information on the area, which the United States acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War. These accounts may have aided Brigham Young when he was shepherding the Mormons west to build a new home in the mountains and valleys of Utah.
The Lure of Minerals
When in 1850 the federal government set up the Utah Territory, almost all of Nevada was included except the southern tip, which was then part of New Mexico. Non-Mormons had been averse to settling in Mormon-dominated territory, but after gold was found in 1859 non-Mormons did come into the area. A rush from California began and multiplied manyfold as news of the Comstock Lode silver strike spread. Most of the newcomers preferred to consider themselves as still being within California, and a political question was added to the general upheaval. Meanwhile, miners came helter-skelter, raising camps that grew overnight into such booming and raucous places as Virginia City.
Partly to impose order on the lawless, wide-open mining towns, Congress made Nevada into a territory in 1861 as migrant prospectors and settlers poured in. The territory was then enlarged by increasing its eastern boundary by one degree of longitude in 1862. It was rushed into statehood in 1864, with Carson City as its capital. President Lincoln (in order to get more votes to pass the Thirteenth Amendment) had signed the proclamation even though the territory did not actually meet the population requirement for statehood.
In 1866 Nevada acquired its present-day boundaries when the southern tip was added and more eastern land was gained from Utah. Communications with the East, which had been briefly maintained by the Pony Express, were firmly established by the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The state continued to be dependent on its precious ores, and its fate was affected by new strikes such as the “big bonanza” (1873), which enriched the silver kings, J. W. Mackay and J. G. Fair, and the discoveries of silver deposits at Tonopah (1900), of copper at Ely, and of gold at Goldfield (1902).
Resting on such an undiversified base, the economy was seriously shaken by mining depressions and by fluctuations in the market prices of the minerals. Naturally the political leaders of Nevada were vociferous in favor of the free coinage of silver. From the 1870s to the 1890s the people of Nevada were strong supporters of the “cheap money” advocates and were thus linked with the discontented farmers of the Midwest in favoring the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (although both were considered insufficient measures). They enthusiastically endorsed the silver program of William Jennings Bryan and the Democrats in 1896, and even after its resounding defeat they continued to clamor for government purchase and coinage of silver.
The Federal Government and Population Growth
In the 20th cent. the federal government has played a major role in Nevada's development. Some federal works, like the Newlands Irrigation Project (1907)—the nation's first federal irrigation project—and the Hoover Dam (completed in 1936), have been generally welcomed. Others have aroused opposition. The Atomic Energy Commission began conducting nuclear tests in Nevada at Frenchman Flat and Yucca Flat in the 1950s. In 1987 the Department of Energy chose Yucca Mountain for the storage of high-level nuclear wastes; the state has continued to fight that decision. Federal activities in general gave impetus to the so-called Sagebrush Rebellion, which demanded that the U.S. government give Nevada lands “back” to Nevadans.
Nevada's population, sparse since the time when the Paiute and other tribes eked out a meager living from the land and animals, increased by more than 1200% between 1950 and 2000. One of the fastest-growing U.S. states (and many years the fastest-growing), Nevada is increasingly home to retirees and to workers in new, especially technological, industries.
Bibliography
See R. R. Elliott, History of Nevada (1973); R. G. Lillard, Desert Challenge: An Interpretation of Nevada (1942, repr. 1979); H. H. Bancroft, History of Nevada, 1540–1888 (1982); H. S. Carlson, Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary (1985); R. R. Elliott and W. D. Rowley, History of Nevada (1987); D. Thomson, In Nevada (1999).
| Geography: Nevada |
State in the western United States bordered by Oregon and Idaho to the north, Utah and Arizona to the east, and California to the south and west. Its capital is Carson City, and its largest city is Las Vegas.
| Stats: Nevada |
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| Parks: Nevada |
| Wikipedia: Nevada |
| State of Nevada | |||||||||||
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| Official language(s) | De jure: None De facto: English |
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| Demonym | Nevadan | ||||||||||
| Capital | Carson City | ||||||||||
| Las Vegas | |||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Las Vegas Valley | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 7th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 110,567 sq mi (286,367 km²) |
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| - Width | 322 miles (519 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 490 miles (788 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | |||||||||||
| - Latitude | 35° N to 42° N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 114° 2′ W to 120° W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 35th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 2,600,167 (2008 est.)[1] 1,998,257 (2000) |
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| - Density | 23.4/sq mi (9.02/km²) Ranked 42nd in the US |
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| - Median income | $46,984 (16th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Boundary Peak[2] 13,140 ft (4,005 m) |
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| - Mean | 5,499 ft (1,676 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Colorado River[2] 479 ft (146 m) |
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| Admission to Union | October 31, 1864 (36th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Jim Gibbons (R) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Brian Krolicki (R) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) |
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| U.S. House delegation | 1: Shelley Berkley (D) 2: Dean Heller (R) 3: Dina Titus (D) (list) |
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| Time zones | |||||||||||
| - most of state | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 (DST) | ||||||||||
| - West Wendover | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 (DST) | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | NV Nev. US-NV | ||||||||||
| Website | www.nv.gov | ||||||||||
Nevada (
/nəˈvæːdə/ (help·info)) is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City, Nevada and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is the "Silver State," due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the phrase "Battle Born" on the state flag reflects the state's entry on the Union side during the American Civil War. Its first settlement was called Mormon Station.
Nevada is the seventh-largest state in area, and geographically covers the Mojave Desert in the south to the Great Basin in the north. Approximately 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government under various jurisdictions both civilian and military.[3] As of 2006, there were about 2.6 million residents, with over 85% of the population residing in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas and Reno.[4] The state is well known for its easy heterosexual marriage and divorce proceedings, entertainment, legalized gambling and, in 8 out of its 16 counties, legalized active brothels.
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The name Nevada comes from the Spanish "Nevada", meaning "snow-covered".[5] after the Sierra Nevada ("snow-covered mountains") mountain range. Although the original Spanish word is pronounced "neh-VAH-duh", with the "ah" as in "father", the State of Nevada is pronounced "neh-VǍ-duh", with the "a" as in "tan".[6]
Most non-Nevadans use the former pronunciation, which annoys locals, the most famous case of this was George W Bush's faux pas during his campaign for the 2004 US Presidential Election. Vindication later came when President Bush campaigned at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on June 18, 2004. The president opened his talk by proclaiming that "It's great to be here in 'Nuh-VAD-uh,'" the crowd roaring its approval when he light-heartedly noted "You didn't think I'd get it right, did ya?" [7]
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, which belies the image portrayed by the term Great Basin.
Much of the northern part of the state is within the Great Basin Desert, 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 (184 m)) on June 29, 1994.[8]
The Humboldt River crosses 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.
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 (900 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 (due to temperature inversion).
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 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 Spring Mountain Range, just west of Las Vegas. The state's lowest point is along the Colorado River, south of Laughlin.
Nevada is made up of mostly desert areas, where daytime summer temperatures sometimes may rise as high as 115 °F (46 °C) and nighttime winter temperatures may reach as low as 10 °F (−12 °C). The winter season in the southern part of the state, however, tends to be of short duration and mild. Most parts of Nevada receive scarce precipitation during the year. Most rain falls on the lee side (east and northeast slopes) of the Sierra Nevada Range. The average annual rainfall per year is about 7 inches (18 cm); the wettest parts get around 40 inches (102 cm).
Las Vegas: Summer daytime highs average 94-104 degrees, and summer nighttime lows average 69-77 degrees. Winter daytime highs average 57-69 degrees, and winter nighttime lows average 37-47 degrees.
Reno: Summer daytime highs average 81-91 degrees, and summer nighttime lows average 43-51 degrees. Winter daytime highs average 45-57 degrees, and winter nighttime lows average 20-29 degrees.
Elko: Summer daytime highs average 78-89 degrees, and summer nighttime lows average 38-48 degrees. Winter daytime highs average 37-51 degrees, and winter nighttime lows average 13-26 degrees.
Nevada is divided into political jurisdictions designated as counties. Carson City is officially a consolidated municipality; however, for many purposes under state law it is considered to be a county. As of 1919 there were 17 counties in the state, ranging from 146 to 18,159 square miles (378 to 47,032 km²). In 1969 Ormbsy County was dissolved and the consolidated municipality of Carson City was created by the Legislature in its place co-terminous with the old boundaries of Ormsby County.
| NEVADA COUNTIES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County name | County seat | Year founded | 2000 population | Percent of total | Area (sq. mi.) | Percent of total |
| Carson City | Carson City | 1861 | 52,457 | 2.63 % | 146 | 0.13 % |
| Churchill | Fallon | 1861 | 23,982 | 1.20 % | 5,023 | 4.54 % |
| Clark | Las Vegas | 1908 | 1,375,765 | 68.85 % | 8,091 | 7.32 % |
| Douglas | Minden | 1861 | 41,259 | 2.06 % | 738 | 0.67 % |
| Elko | Elko | 1869 | 45,291 | 2.27 % | 17,203 | 15.56 % |
| Esmeralda | Goldfield | 1861 | 971 | 0.05 % | 3,589 | 3.25 % |
| Eureka | Eureka | 1869 | 1,651 | 0.08 % | 4,180 | 3.78 % |
| Humboldt | Winnemucca | 1856/1861 | 16,106 | 0.81 % | 9,658 | 8.74 % |
| Lander | Battle Mountain | 1861 | 5,794 | 0.29 % | 5,519 | 4.99 % |
| Lincoln | Pioche | 1866 | 4,165 | 0.21 % | 10,637 | 9.62 % |
| Lyon | Yerington | 1861 | 34,501 | 1.73 % | 2,016 | 1.82 % |
| Mineral | Hawthorne | 1911 | 5,071 | 0.25 % | 3,813 | 3.45 % |
| Nye | Tonopah | 1864 | 32,485 | 1.63 % | 18,159 | 16.43 % |
| Pershing | Lovelock | 1919 | 6,693 | 0.33 % | 6,068 | 5.49 % |
| Storey | Virginia City | 1861 | 3,399 | 0.17 % | 264 | 0.24 % |
| Washoe | Reno | 1861 | 339,486 | 16.99 % | 6,551 | 5.93 % |
| White Pine | Ely | 1869 | 9,181 | 0.46 % | 8,897 | 8.05 % |
| Total counties: 17 | Total 2000 population: 1,998,257 | Total state area: 110,552 square miles | ||||
See History of Utah, History of Las Vegas, and the discovery of the first major U.S. deposit of silver ore in Comstock Lode under Virginia City, Nevada in 1859.
On March 2, 1861, the Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory and adopted its current name, shortened from Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snowy range").
The separation of the territory from Utah was important to the federal government because of the Nevada population's political leanings, while the population itself was keen to be separated because of animosity (and sometimes violence) between the non-Mormons who dominated Nevada, and the Mormons who dominated the rest of the Utah territory.[citation needed] Animosity between non-Mormon settlers and Mormons was particularly high after the Mountain Meadows massacre of 1857 and the Utah War in 1857-58.
Eight days prior to the presidential election of 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in 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,[9] as Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized Union.
Nevada achieved its current southern boundaries on May 5, 1866 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 it was thought by officials that Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes most of what is now Clark County.
In 1868 another part of the western Utah Territory, whose population was seeking to avoid Mormon dominance, was added to Nevada in the eastern part of the state, setting the current eastern boundary.
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. However, both mining and population declined in the late 19th century. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900, followed by strikes in Goldfield and Rhyolite, again put Nevada's population on an upward trend.
Unregulated gambling was common place in the early Nevada mining towns but outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming crusade. Due to subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada re-legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. At the time, the leading proponents of gambling expected that it would be a short term fix until the state's economic base widened to include less cyclical industries. However, re-outlawing gambling has never been seriously considered since the industry has become Nevada's primary source of revenue today.
The Hoover Dam, located outside Las Vegas near Boulder City, was constructed in the years 1932–1935. Thousands of workers from across the country came to build the dam, and providing for their needs in turn required many more workers. The boom in population is likely to have fueled the re-legalization of gambling, alike present-day industry. Both Hoover Dam and later war industries such as the Basic Magnesium Plant first started the growth of the southern area of the state near Las Vegas. Over the last 75 years, Clark County in Southern Nevada has been experiencing strong population growth and today encompasses most of the state's residents.
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 is composed of approximately 1,350 square miles (3,500 km2) of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton of TNT (4 terajoule) 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 the highest amount of concentrated nuclear detonated weapons in the U.S.
Over 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. The primary reason for this is that 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). The deficiencies in the Homestead Act as applied to Nevada were probably due to a lack of understanding of the Nevada environment, although some firebrands (so-called "Sagebrush Rebels") maintain that it was due to pressure from mining interests to keep land out of the hands of common folk. This debate continues to be argued among some state historians today.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 6,857 |
|
|
| 1870 | 42,941 | 526.2% | |
| 1880 | 62,266 | 45.0% | |
| 1890 | 47,355 | −23.9% | |
| 1900 | 42,335 | −10.6% | |
| 1910 | 81,875 | 93.4% | |
| 1920 | 77,407 | −5.5% | |
| 1930 | 91,058 | 17.6% | |
| 1940 | 110,247 | 21.1% | |
| 1950 | 160,083 | 45.2% | |
| 1960 | 285,278 | 78.2% | |
| 1970 | 488,738 | 71.3% | |
| 1980 | 800,493 | 63.8% | |
| 1990 | 1,201,833 | 50.1% | |
| 2000 | 1,998,257 | 66.3% | |
| Est. 2008[1] | 2,600,167 | 30.1% | |
| Demographics of Nevada (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN* | Asian | NHPI* |
| 2000 (total population) | 86.11% | 7.67% | 2.17% | 5.67% | 0.83% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 18.78% | 0.44% | 0.45% | 0.25% | 0.11% |
| 2005 (total population) | 84.25% | 8.58% | 2.15% | 6.87% | 0.92% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 22.31% | 0.69% | 0.51% | 0.30% | 0.12% |
| Growth 2000–05 (total population) | 18.23% | 35.25% | 20.23% | 46.27% | 33.72% |
| Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) | 11.17% | 31.96% | 16.39% | 46.36% | 33.55% |
| Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) | 43.57% | 88.97% | 34.74% | 44.46% | 34.84% |
| * AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
According to the Census Bureau's 2007 estimate, Nevada has an estimated population of 2,565,382 which is an increase of 92,909, or 3.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 516,550, or 20.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 81,661 people (that is 170,451 births minus 88,790 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 337,043 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 66,098 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 270,945 people. According to the 2006 census estimate, Nevada is the eighth fastest growing state in the nation.[10]
The center of population of Nevada is located in southern Nye County.[11] In this county, the unincorporated town of Pahrump, located 60 miles (97 km) west of Las Vegas on the California state line, has grown 26 times in size from 1980 to 2000. In the year 2006, the town may have over 50,000 permanent residents. Las Vegas was America's fastest-growing city and metropolitan area from 1960 to 2000, but has grown from a gulch of 100 people in 1900 to 10,000 by 1950 to 100,000 by 1970 to have 2.5 million in the metro area today.
According to the census estimates racial distribution was as follows: 65% White American, 7.1% African-American, 6% Asian-American (estimates placed them at 10%), 2% others (American Indians and Pacific Islanders) and the remaining 20% were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
Large numbers of new residents in the state originate from California, which led some locals to feel that their state is being (pun intended) "Californicated".[12] Nevada also has a sizable Basque ancestry population. In Douglas and Pershing Counties, a plurality of residents are of Mexican ancestry with Clark County (Las Vegas) being home to over 200,000 Mexican Americans alone; Nye County and Humboldt County have a plurality of Germans; and Washoe County has many of Irish ancestry. Las Vegas is home to rapid-growing ethnic communities like Scandinavians, Italians, Poles, American Jews and Armenians.
Largely African-American sections of Las Vegas ("the Meadows") and Reno can be found. Many current African-American Nevadans are newly transplanted residents from California, the Midwest, or the East Coast. However, employment in the US Armed forces, hotels and domestic services attracted black Americans ever since the 1950s.
Since the California Gold Rush of the 1850s brought thousands of Chinese miners to Washoe county, Asian Americans lived in the state. They were followed by few hundreds of Japanese farm workers in the late 1800s. By the late 20th century, many immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, Philippines and recently from India and Vietnam, came to the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The city now has one of America's most prolific Asian-American communities, with a mostly Chinese and Taiwanese area known as "Chinatown" west of I-15 on Spring Mountain Boulevard, and an "Asiatown" shopping mall for Asian customers located at Charleston Avenue/Paradise Boulevard.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 16.19% of Nevada's population aged 5 and older speak Spanish at home, while 1.59% speak Filipino [1] and 1% speak Chinese languages, the majority of foreign languages are found in ethnic sections of Central Las Vegas.
6.8% of the state's population were reported as under 5, 26.3% under 18, and 13.6% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.7% of the population. As a result of its rapid population growth, Nevada has a higher percentage of residents born outside of the state than anywhere else in the entire country. Las Vegas was a major destination for immigrants from South Asia and Latin America seeking employment in the gaming and hospitality industries during the 1990s and 2000s, but farming and construction is the biggest employer of immigrant labor.
From about the 1940s until 2003, Nevada was the fastest-growing state in the US percentage-wise. Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada's population increased 66.3%, while the USA's population increased 13.1%. Over two thirds of the population of the state live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
Major religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are:[13]
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 331,844; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 116,925; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 40,233. 77,100 Nevadans belong to Jewish congregations.[14]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Nevada's total state product in 2007 was $127 billion. Resort areas such as Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and Laughlin attract visitors from around the nation and world. The state's Per capita personal income in 2007 was $39,853, ranking sixteenth in the nation.[15] Its agricultural outputs are cattle, hay, alfalfa, dairy products, onions, and potatoes. Its industrial outputs are tourism, mining, machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, and electric equipment. Prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada in the form of brothels, but only counties with populations under 400,000 residents have the option to legalize it. Of the counties that can legalize it, they may choose to outlaw it if they wish, as some have. Prostitution is illegal and offenders are prosecuted in Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe County (which contains Reno), and several other counties around the state.
In portions of the state outside of the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas, mining and cattle ranching are the major economic activities. By value, gold is by far the most important mineral mined. In 2004, 6.8 million ounces of gold worth $2.84 billion were mined in Nevada, and the state accounted for 8.7% of world gold production (see Gold mining in Nevada). Silver is a distant second, with 10.3 million ounces worth $69 million mined in 2004 (see Silver mining in Nevada).[16] Other minerals mined in Nevada include construction aggregates, copper, gypsum, diotomite and lithium. Despite its rich deposits, the cost of mining in Nevada is generally high, and output is very sensitive to world commodity prices.
As of January 1, 2006 there were an estimated 500,000 head of cattle and 70,000 head of sheep in Nevada.[17] Most of these animals forage on rangeland in the summer, with supplemental feed in the winter. Calves are generally shipped to out-of-state feedlots in the fall to be fattened for market. Over 90% of Nevada's 484,000 acres (1,960 km2) of cropland is used to grow hay, mostly alfalfa, for livestock feed.
Nevada is also one of only a few states with no personal income tax and no corporate income tax. The state sales tax in Nevada is 6.5%. Counties can assess option taxes as well, making the combined state/county sales taxes rate in some areas as high as 7.75%. Sales tax in Carson City is 7.125% in Clark County 7.75%, in Washoe County 7.375%, while sales tax in Douglas County is 6.75%.
Amtrak's California Zephyr train uses the Union Pacific's original transcontinental railroad line in daily service from Chicago to Emeryville, California serving Elko, Winnemucca, Sparks, and Reno. Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches also provide connecting service from Las Vegas to trains at Needles, California, Los Angeles, and Bakersfield, California; and from Stateline, Nevada, to Sacramento, California.
The Union Pacific Railroad has some railroads in the north and in the south. Greyhound Lines provides some bus services.
Interstate 15 passes through the southern tip of the state, serving Las Vegas and other communities. I-215 and spur route I-515 also serve the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Interstate 80 crosses through the northern part of Nevada, roughly following the path of the Humboldt River from Utah in the east and passing westward through Reno and into California. It has a spur route, I-580. Nevada also is served by several federal highways: US 6, US 50, US 93, US 95 and US 395. There are also 189 Nevada state highways. Nevada is one of a few states in the U.S. that does not have a continuous interstate highway linking its two major population centers. Even the non-interstate federal highways aren't contiguous between the Las Vegas area and Reno area, though they are well marked by signs showing where to turn.
The state is one of just a few in the country that allow semi-trailer trucks with three trailers—what might be called a "road train" in Australia. However, American versions are usually smaller, in part because they must ascend and descend some fairly steep mountain passes.
Citizens Area Transit (CAT) is the public transit system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The agency is the largest transit agency in the state and operates a network of bus service across the Las Vegas Valley, including the use of double-decker buses on the Las Vegas Strip and several outlying routes. RTC RIDE operates a system of local transit bus service throughout the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area. Other transit systems in the state include Carson City's JAC. Most other counties in the state do not have public transportation at all.
Additionally, a four mile monorail system provides public transportation in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Monorail line services several casino properties and the Las Vegas Convention Center on the east side of the Las Vegas Strip, running near Paradise Road, with a possible future extension to McCarran Airport. Several hotels also run their own monorail lines between each other, which are typically several blocks in length.
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is one of the busiest airports in the nation. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport (formerly known as the Reno Cannon International Airport) is the other major airport in the state.
The current Governor of Nevada is Jim Gibbons (Republican); the governor of Nevada is limited by the Nevada Constitution to two four-year terms in office, by election or succession (lifetime limit). Nevada's two U.S. senators are Harry Reid (Democrat) and John Ensign (Republican), who, by the United States Constitution, have no term limits. Nevada's three U.S. Representatives are Republican Dean Heller and Democrats Shelley Berkley and Dina Titus.
; Map of Congressional Districts.
The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body divided into an upper house Senate and a lower house Assembly. Members of the Senate serve for four years, and members of the Assembly serve for two years. Both houses of the Nevada Legislature will be impacted by term limits starting in 2010, as Senators and Assemblymen/women will be limited to a maximum of 12 years service in each house (by appointment or election which is a lifetime limit) - this provision in the constitution was recently upheld for legislators by the Supreme Court of Nevada in a unanimous decision (7-0), so term limits will be in effect starting in 2010. Each session of the Legislature meets for a constitutionally mandated 120 days in every odd-numbered year, or longer if the Governor calls a special session. Currently, the Senate is controlled by the Democratic Party (12 to 9 majority) and the Assembly is controlled by the Democratic Party (28 to 14 majority).
Nevada is one of the few U.S. states without a system of intermediate appellate courts.
The state supreme court is the Supreme Court of Nevada. Unlike other state supreme courts, the Supreme Court of Nevada lacks the power of discretionary review, so it must hear all appeals; as a result, Nevada's judicial system is congested.
There have been several articles accusing judges in Nevada of making biased or favored decisions as the result of case outcomes and reporting done by the Los Angeles Times newspaper (in which it raised the issue of justice for sale).
Original jurisdiction is divided between the District Courts (with general jurisdiction), and Justice Courts and Municipal Courts (both of limited jurisdiction).
In 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a "barren desert" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:
"Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Nevada began to legalize or liberalize various institutions in comparison to other states, including neighboring California."
Prostitution is legal in some parts of Nevada (under the form of licensed brothels). It is, however, illegal in Clark County, which contains Las Vegas; Washoe County, which contains Reno; Carson City; and some other counties.
Nevada's early reputation as a "divorce haven" arose from the fact that, prior to the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gambling and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation. This resulted in Williams v. North Carolina, 317 U.S. 287 (1942), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina had to give "full faith and credit" to a Nevada divorce.
Nevada's tax laws also draw new residents and businesses to the state. Nevada has no personal income tax or corporate income tax. [2].
Nevada also provides friendly environment for the formation of corporations, and many (especially California) businesspeople have incorporated their businesses in Nevada to take advantage of the benefits of the Nevada statute. Nevada corporations offer great flexibility to the Board of Directors and simplify or avoid many of the rules that are cumbersome to business managers in some other states. In addition, Nevada has no franchise tax.
Similarly, many U.S. states have usury laws limiting the amount of interest a lender can charge, but Federal law allows corporations to 'import' these laws from their home state. Nevada (amongst others) has relatively lax interest laws, in effect allowing banks to charge as much as they want, hence the preponderance of credit card companies in the state.[citation needed]
Non-alcohol drug laws are notable exception to Nevada's otherwise libertarian principles. It is notable for having the harshest penalties for drug offenders in the country. Nevada remains the only state to still use mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for marijuana possession. However, it is now a misdemeanor for possession of less than one ounce but only for persons age 21 and older. In 2006, voters in Nevada defeated attempts to allow possession of 1 ounce of marijuana (for personal use) without being criminally prosecuted, (55% against legalization, 45% in favor of legalization). Also, Nevada is one of the states that allows for use of marijuana for medical reasons (though this remains illegal under federal law).
Nevada has very liberal alcohol laws. Bars are permitted to remain open 24 hours, with no "last call". Liquor stores, convenience stores and supermarkets may also sell alcohol 24 hours per day, and may sell beer, wine and spirits.
Nevada voters enacted a smoking ban ("the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act") in November 2006 that became effective on December 8, 2006. It outlaws smoking in most workplaces and public places. Smoking is permitted in bars, but only if the bar serves no food, or the bar is inside a larger casino. Smoking is also permitted in casinos, hotel rooms, tobacco shops, and brothels.[18] However, some businesses do not obey this law and the government tends not to enforce it.[19] Yet, in one case, they did prosecute an establishment called "Bilbo's." As of 2008, the trial was still pending.[20]
Nevada has been ranked as the most dangerous state in the United States for five years in a row.[21][22] In 2006, the crime rate in Nevada was approximately 24% higher than the national average rate. Property crimes accounted for approximately 84.6% of the crime rate in Nevada which was 21% higher than the national rate. The remaining 20.3% were violent crimes and were approximately 45% higher than other states.[23] In 2008, Nevada had the third highest murder rate, and the highest rate of robbery and motor vehicle theft.[21] It should be noted that many of these statistics may not totally be attributed to the citizens of Nevada themselves, but partially to the high rate of visitors entering and leaving the state as well.
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 42.65% 412,827 | 55.15% 533,736 |
| 2004 | 50.47% 418,690 | 47.88% 397,190 |
| 2000 | 49.49% 301,575 | 45.94% 279,978 |
| 1996 | 44.55% 198,775 | 45.60% 203,388 |
| 1992 | 34.71% 175,828 | 37.41% 189,148 |
| 1988 | 58.90% 206,040 | 37.91% 132,738 |
Due to heavy growth in the southern portion of the state, there is a noticeable divide between politics of northern and southern Nevada. The north has long maintained control of key positions in state government, even while the population of Southern Nevada is larger than the rest of the state combined. The north sees the high population south becoming more influential and perhaps commanding majority rule. The south sees the north as the "old guard" trying to rule as an oligarchy. This has fostered some resentment, however, due to a term limit amendment passed by Nevada voters in 1994, and again in 1996, some of the north's hold over key positions will soon be forfeited to the south, leaving Northern Nevada with less power. Most people outside the state are not familiar with this rivalry.
Clark and Washoe counties—home to Las Vegas and Reno, respectively—have long dominated the state's politics. Between them, they cast 87 percent of Nevada's vote, and elect a substantial majority of the state legislature. The great majority of the state's elected officials are either from Las Vegas or Reno.
Nevada has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1912, except in 1976 when it voted for Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter. This gives the state status as a political bellwether.
As of 2008, 43.8% of voters are registered Democrats, 36.1% are Republican and the remaining 20.1% are considered Independents.[24] Recently, Nevada supported Democrat Bill Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections, Republican George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004, and Democrat Barack Obama won the state in 2008.
The state's U. S. Senators are Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, and Republican John Ensign, former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The Governorship is held by Jim Gibbons, a Republican from Reno.
State departments and agencies:
Incorporated towns in Nevada, known as cities, are vested with home rule powers, meaning that they are given the authority to legislate anything not prohibited by law.
Unincorporated towns are settlements eminently governed by the county in which they are located, but who, by local referendum or by the act of the county commission, can form limited local governments in the form of a Town Advisory Board (TAB)/ Citizens Advisory Council (CAC), or a Town Board.
Town Advisory Boards and Citizens Advisory Councils are formed purely by act of the county commission. Consisting of three to five members, these elected boards form a purely advisory role, and in no way diminish the responsibilities of the county commission that creates them. Members of advisory councils and boards are elected to two year terms, and serve without compensation. The councils and boards, themselves, are provided no revenue, and oversee no budget.
Town Boards are limited local governments created by either the local county commission, or by referendum. The board consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Half the board is required to be up for election in each election. The board elects from within its ranks a town chairperson and town clerk. While more powerful than Town Advisory Boards and Citizens Advisory Councils, they also serve a largely advisory role, with their funding provided by their local county commission. The local county commission has the power to put before residents of the town a vote on whether to keep or dissolve a town board at any general election. Town boards have the ability to appoint a town manager if they choose to do so.
|
Paradise, Sunrise Manor, and Spring Valley are unincorporated towns in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
| Rank | County | Population within county limits |
Land Area sq. miles |
Population Density per sq mi |
Largest city |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clark | 1,715,337 | 7,910 | 174 | Las Vegas |
| 2 | Washoe | 383,453 | 6,342 | 54 | Reno |
| 3 | Carson City | 56,146 | 155.7 | 366 | Carson City |
| 4 | Douglas | 47,803 | 710 | 58 | Gardnerville Ranchos |
| 5 | Elko | 46,499 | 17,179 | 3 | Elko |
| 6 | Lyon | 44,646 | 1,994 | 17 | Fernley |
| 7 | Nye | 38,181 | 18,147 | 2 | Pahrump |
| 8 | Churchill | 26,106 | 4,929 | 5 | Fallon |
| 9 | Humboldt | 17,129 | 9,648 | 2 | Winnemucca |
| 10 | White Pine | 8,966 | 8,876 | 1 | Ely |
Note: table was compiled using Nevada State estimates from 2004 for population and Census 2000 for area and density
Ranked by per capita income
There are 68 designated wilderness areas in Nevada, protecting some 6,579,014 acres (26,624.33 km2) under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management.[26]
See: List of Nevada state parks.
Although Nevada is not well-known for its professional sports, the state takes pride in college sports, most notably the University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack of the Western Athletic Conference and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels of the Mountain West Conference.
UNLV is most remembered for their basketball program, which experienced its height of supremacy in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Runnin' Rebels became one of the most elite programs in the country. In 1990, UNLV won the Men's Division I Championship by defeating Duke University 103–73, which set tournament records for most points scored by a team and largest margin of victory in the national title game. In 1991, UNLV finished the regular season undefeated. Forward Larry Johnson won several awards, including the Naismith Award. UNLV reached the Final Four yet again, but lost their national semifinal against Duke 79-77, and is referred to as one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament. The Runnin' Rebels were the Associated Press pre-season #1 back to back (1989–90, 1990–91). North Carolina is the only other team to accomplish that (2007-08, 2008-09).
Complete List of Nevada sports teams.
 |
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2008) |
Nevada's nicknames are "Sagebrush State, "Battle Born State", and "Silver State", and the state's motto is "All for Our Country". Home Means Nevada by Bertha Raffetto is the state song. The phrase "Battle Born" is on the state flag; "The Battle Born State" is the official state slogan, as Nevada was admitted into the union during the American Civil War.
Several United States Navy ships have been named USS Nevada in honor of the state. The one that preceded the ship that was at Pearl Harbor was eventually renamed USS Tonopah, for the Nevada city
Nevada is home to Nellis Air Force Base, a major testing and training base of the United States Air Force. Nellis is reputedly the home of Area 51, a top-secret installation of the Federal Government. Area 51 is located near Groom Lake a dry salt lake bed. Some time ago, the United States Air Force confirmed that there is an operating facility at Groom Lake, but the nature of the activities being conducted at Groom Lake are classified and cannot be disclosed. The much smaller Creech Air Force Base is located in Indian Springs, Nevada and can be seen on the right side of US 95 when entering the town.
The paranormal radio talk show host Art Bell lives in Pahrump.
In the Finnish language, there is a very well known concept "huitsin Nevada", which refers to some far away place in spoken language (in a same way as a saying "from here to Timbuktu"). The origin and history of the saying is unknown. "Nevada" refers to the name of this U.S. state and "huitsin" is a slang word meaning "very" or "utter".
Nevada enjoys many economic advantages as a whole, and the southern portion of the state enjoys mild winter weather, but rapid growth has led to issues of overcrowded schools. Nevada is already home to the nation's 5th largest school district in the Clark County School District (projected fall 2007 enrollment is 314,000 students grades K-12), the state has seen rising crime levels, and problems with transportation (according to state figures, there is a 1 billion dollar shortfall in funds for road construction projects in Nevada). Most recently, there has been news of water shortfalls in southern Nevada in the years to come, due to the population increase, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that there will be water shortages by the year 2020. The authority is working on plans to import water from the low populated area of northern Nevada. The state remains one of the fastest growing in the country.
The residents of the communities in the Las Vegas Valley pay some of the highest car insurance rates in the nation.
Some residents of the town of Wendover, Utah have expressed interest in being annexed by the state of Nevada so the town may merge with West Wendover, Nevada. There has also been interest by Needles, California in being annexed. These deals will require permission of the Nevada and Utah/California legislatures, respectively, as well as the approval of the U.S. Congress.
In 2008, the "American State Litter Scorecard," presented at the American Society for Public Administration national conference, positioned Nevada next to Mississippi and Louisiana as one of the worst states for removing litter from public roadways and properties.[27]
Recently, an economic downturn due to the housing market collapse in Las Vegas (which has one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation), coupled with many months of declining gaming revenue and higher prices for gasoline and consumer goods, has caused a 1.2 billion dollar shortfall in the state budget (which is required by the constitution to be balanced). Thus, the state government of Nevada had to dip into its rainy day fund of $267 million. In August 2008, it was announced that Boyd Gaming would halt construction on a 4.2 billion dollar project called Echelon, which was to replace the old Stardust Hotel & Casino. The reason cited for this is lack of funding/credit from banks.
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| Preceded by West Virginia |
List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on October 31, 1864 (36th) |
Succeeded by Nebraska |
Coordinates: 39°N 117°W / 39°N 117°W
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Nevada |
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n. - Nevada
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
内华达
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 內華達
한국어 (Korean)
네바다 (미국 서부의 주; 주도 Carson City; (약) New., NV; 속칭 Silver State, Sagebrush State)
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