All About Nevada
Nevada is a constituent state of the United States of America. It borders California on the west, Oregon and Idaho on the north, Utah on the east, and Arizona on the southeast. It has an area of 110,567 square miles (286,368 square kilometres), which makes it the seventh largest of the 50 states; it also, however, is one of the most sparsely settled. Carson City is the capital. Nevada became the 36th state of the Union on Oct. 31, 1864. Nevada is located in a mountainous region that includes vast semiarid grasslands and sandy alkali deserts. It is the most arid state of the nation. The state takes its name from the Spanish nevada (snow clad), a reference to the high mountain scenery of the Sierra Nevada on the southwestern border with California.
Nevada appears far removed from the days when Virginia City was a fabled frontier town, thriving on the rich silver mines of the Comstock Lode. However, many frontier qualities persist, though subtly transformed by a sophisticated urban environment. The prospector digging against odds to find a bonanza has been replaced by the fortune seekers in the gambling casinos of Las Vegas and Reno, and the erstwhile ''saloon diversions'' have evolved into lavish nightclub entertainment.
While the great majority of Nevadans live in the two main cities - more than one-half of them in the Las Vegas metropolitan area and almost one-fourth in that of Reno - the undeveloped lands of the state provide a largely unknown resource. Combined with the major scientific activity related to the federal government's atomic research facilities, the modern cities and desert reaches make Nevada a unique phenomenon among U.S. states.
Most of Nevada lies within the Great Basin section of the Basin and Range Province, where the topography is characterized by rugged mountains, flat valleys with occasional buttes and mesas, and sandy desert regions. More than 30 north–south mountain ranges cross the state; the highest elevations are Boundary Peak, at 13,143 feet (4,009 metres), and Wheeler Peak, at 13,063 feet. The southern area of the state is within the Mojave Desert, and the lowest elevation, 470 feet (143 metres), is in the Colorado River Canyon.
Although the traditional bases of Nevada's economic life, mining and agriculture, remain important, they are far overshadowed by manufacturing, government, and tourist-related services. One of the richest mineral regions of the nation extends eastward from California across Nevada and into Arizona. Gold has replaced copper as the most commercially valuable of the state's minerals, and the annual output is among the highest in the nation. Nevada is also the leading producer of barite and mercury.
Tourism and its related activities bring millions of visitors; contribute more income than mining, agriculture, and manufacturing combined; and employ about one-third of the work force. Although millions of people visit Lake Mead and other recreational and scenic areas, the tourist industry centres on several attractions that largely are unique to Nevada among the U.S. states. The 24-hour-a-day gaming casinos bordering The Strip and Glitter Gulch in Las Vegas are the most publicized aspect of the legal gambling industry. Important adjuncts to the casinos are the luxury hotels, gourmet restaurants, golf courses, and nightclubs that have made Las Vegas - and, to a lesser extent, Reno and Lake Tahoe - a major centre of live entertainment in the nation. Small towns also emphasize the hospitality industry and tourism.
Its vast size makes Nevada heavily dependent upon air transportation. The state is served by several national airlines. There are numerous airports and airfields, and both Las Vegas and Reno have been designated as international ports of entry. Three major railroads cross the state, while short lines serve as feeders where truck competition has not caused their discontinuance. Nevada's public roads include primary and secondary highways as well as municipal and rural roads. Two of the federal highways are part of the interstate system. The three major transportation and trade centres of the state are Reno, the principal distributive centre for northwestern Nevada and northeastern California; Elko and Ely, in northeastern Nevada; and Las Vegas, the commercial centre for southern Nevada and nearby areas of Utah and Arizona. Warehousing and trucking industries flourish because of Nevada's strategic geographic location and the ''free port'' tax exemption for goods continuing in transit.
