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From out at sea Spanish sailors gazed upon the beautiful mountain ranges of California. They called these mountains Sierra Nevada (snowy range). Sierra Nevada seemed an apt name for the new territory that was being carved out of Utah, but when the deed was done in 1859, the name of this new territory had been shortened to Nevada. As far back as 1857 many names were used to refer to the area that became Nevada, IE: Sierra Nevada Territory; Washoe Territory; Carson Territory; Eastern Slope; Humboldt; Esmeralda; Sierra Plata; Oro Plata and Bullion. But in 1864 the land emerged as "Nevada" a Spanish word meaning snow-covered.

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16y ago

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