Las Vegas

Located in the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1911. No city in the United States has experienced more growth in the 20th century than Las Vegas. It is the largest city in Nevada and 29th largest city in America.

Las Vegas is well known as the nation’s top gambling destination and one of the top tourist destinations in the entire world. It is often referred to as the "entertainment capital of the world" for its many casinos, theaters, shows, restaurants, and flashy hotels.

Las Vegas was established in 1905. It is the most populous American city founded in the 20th century. In 1931, the state of Nevada legalized gambling and passed laws easing restrictions on divorce, which would attract thousands from other states where divorce laws were very strict. In addition, construction on the Hoover Dam began brought thousands of worker

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Reno

Reno was founded in 1868 as a depot on the Central Pacific Railroad after gold and silver were found in west Nevada. The town was named after General Jesse Reno, a Union general killed in the Civil War. Reno soon flourished as the largest stop on the Transcontinental Railroad between Salt Lake City and Sacramento. The city would next become a major mining and gambling center.

Today, Reno is the largest city in central Nevada and remains a popular gambling destination. It is sometimes referred to as the "The Biggest Little City in the World." It was the birthplace of Caesar’s Entertainment, a multinational corporation that owns casinos, hotels, and golf courses.

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Carson City

Like Many of Nevada's towns, Carson City was founded during the gold and silver mining boom of the 1850's and 1860's. The city was named after American frontiersman Kit Carson. Miners and Prospectors flooded to the hills around Carson City after the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the largest concentration of silver in the world, in nearby Virginia City. Carson City was named capital of the Nevada territory in 1861.

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Elko

Elko, Nevada was founded in 1869 after the Central Pacific Railroad extended its tracks to the region. Although the origin of the name "Elko" is uncertain, most believe the city is named after the resident elk in the region.

Today, Elko is a stronghold of western culture. It is home to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, the Western Folklife Center, as well as a number of casinos.

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Colorado River

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Mojave Desert

The Mojave desert extends through southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and parts of southeastern California. The region gets about six inches of rainfall per year. Most of the desert is between 3,000 and 6,000 feet in altitude. Summers are extremely hot. Some places, like Death Valley, regularly reach temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Mojave is one of the most biologically rich deserts. About 2,000 species of plants have been documented.

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Humboldt River

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Pyramid Lake

Pyramid Lake, located in the Great Basin region of Nevada, is a large saline (salt-water) lake. It is the last remnant of the ancient Lake Lahontan, which once covered much of northwestern Nevada toward the end of the last ice age. Pyramid Lake was the site of several violent encounters between white settlers and the Northern Paiute in 1860, known as the Pyramid Lake War. As many as 80 settlers were killed in the skirmishes.

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Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake on the California/Nevada border. It is the second deepest lake in America. At an altitude of 6,229 feet, it is also one of the highest.

The lake is an extremely popular tourist attraction. Thousands of people come to Lake Tahoe every year to enjoy the excellent skiing, sledding, hiking and water sports activities. In addition, there are casinos on the Nevada side of the lake.

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Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park, located in eastern Nevada, highlights the area known as the Great Basin, a high mountainous region between the Rocky Mountais and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.The park is best known for its
collection of bristlecone pines, twisted looking evergreens that are thought to be the oldest living things on the planet. Some may be more than 4,000 years old.

Great Basin

Encompassing the entire state of Nevada, and much of Utah, Idaho, and Oregon, the Great Basin is an arid, mountainous area in the western United States, between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Range.

It consists of a series of mountain ranges in Nevada including the East Humboldt, Ruby, and White Mountains. The basin itself is a series of watersheds with no outlet to the sea or to a river that flows to the sea. Any precipitation that falls evaporates, seeps into the ground, or forms playas, short lived lakes that eventually evaporate.

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Boundary Peak

Located in the White Mountains of western Nevada, Boundary Peak is the state's highest point at 13,441 feet.

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Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the largest manmade reservoir in the United States. It was formed by water impounded from the Colorado River by the Hoover Dam. The water from Lake Mead serves residents in southern California and Nevada.

In 1964, Congress established Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Nearly ten million people visit the park every year!

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Area 51

Area 51 is a mysteroius region in southern Nevada that is said to be a testing facility for secret, military airplanes. It is also at the center of UFO conspiracies. Many believe the area serves as a storage area for downed alien spacecraft, or, as a laborotory for experiments on dead aliens. As a result of such rumors, Area 51 has played prominently in film and media.

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Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam can store 9.2 trillion gallons of water in its reservoir, Lake Mead. It was named after president Herbert Hoover. The Hoover Dam was built for three reasons: