Nevada

I

Introduction

Nevada, one of the western states of the United States, bordered on the north by Oregon and Idaho, on the east by Utah and Arizona, and on the south-west and west by California.

Nevada entered the Union on October 31, 1864, as the 36th state. It has long been known for its mineral wealth and for its gambling casinos and scenic landscapes that attract millions of tourists. By the early 1990s, however, Nevada had developed a relatively diversified economy; tourism, mining, and ranching remain important, but manufacturing and construction have grown rapidly. In the 1990s Nevada had both the fastest-growing economy and the fastest-growing population in the country, and the economic boom was without precedent in the state. The state’s name is taken from the Sierra Nevada (Spanish nevada, “snow covered”). Nevada is known as the “Silver State”.

II

Land and Resources

With an area of 286,367 sq km (110,567 sq mi), Nevada is the seventh-largest state in the United States. In shape the state resembles a rectangle with the lower left part sheared off diagonally; its extreme dimensions are 777 km (483 mi) from north to south and 517 km (321 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from 143 m (470 ft) along the Colorado River in the southernmost part of the state to 4,005 m (13,140 ft) from the top of Boundary Peak on the California boundary.

A

Physical Geography

Nearly all of Nevada lies within the Great Basin, or Basin and Range, region. The topography of this region is characterized by numerous north-west-lying mountain ranges, prominent among which are the Humboldt, Shoshone, Monitor, and Schell Creek ranges. The rugged mountains of the Sierra Nevada occupy a western corner of the state to the west of Carson City. The Columbia Plateau covers a small north-eastern portion of the state.

Nearly all Nevada’s streams and rivers drain internally into lakes or into dry lake beds (playas). The major exception is the Colorado River, which forms a short section of the border in the south-east. Other principal rivers are the Humboldt, Walker, Carson, and Truckee. Natural lakes are relatively few; most are found in the mountains. Lake Tahoe lies astride the Nevada-California border in the Sierra Nevada. Lake Mead, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, is impounded behind Hoover Dam on the Colorado River.

B

Climate

With its varied topography, Nevada has wide variations in weather. The outstanding climatic features are clear, bright sunshine, little precipitation in the valleys and deserts, heavy snowfall in the mountains, and wide ranges of daily temperatures. The average annual temperature is 9.4° C (49° F) at Reno and 18.9° C (66° F) at Las Vegas. The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -45.6° C (-50° F) near the Idaho border in 1937 to 50° C (122° F) at Overton in 1954. Nevada is the driest state in the United States; average annual precipitation ranges from only 102 mm (4 in) in the south-east and Carson Sink to 610 mm (24 in) in parts of the Sierra Nevada and the mountains of the north-east.