Moving to Nevada - Las Vegas, Carson City, Reno, Laughlin
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Nevada, the westernmost intermountain state, is best
known for its desert climate and legalized gambling. It was first explored
in the 1820s, was first settled in 1849, and became the 36th state in
1864. Bounded by California on the south and west, Oregon and Idaho on
the north, and Arizona and Utah on the east, it is the seventh-largest
state, covering an area of 286,368 sq km (110,567 sq mi), about 80% of
which is federally controlled. Only Alaska has more public land than Nevada.
Nevada is a sparsely populated state, but its population growth rate is
one of the highest in the United States. The state capital is Carson City.
Nevada is a Spanish word meaning "snow covered." The nickname, Silver
State, recalls Nevada's mining origins. Ranching has also been important,
but its growth has been restricted by limited water resources. Tourism
is now the dominant sector of the economy. The resort cities of Las Vegas
and Reno have grown rapidly, while rural Nevada has remained sparsely
populated.
LAND AND RESOURCES
Other than the Sierra Nevada in the extreme west and the Columbia Plateau
in the far north, Nevada lies wholly within the Great Basin, a plateau
of isolated mountain ranges separated by arid basins. About 160 north-south-trending
mountain ranges cross the state. The average elevation is 1,676 m (5,500
ft). The lowest and highest elevations are located, respectively, along
the Colorado River and on Boundary Peak. Valleys between the mountains
lie at high altitudes, usually at elevations of 1,200-1,800 m (3,800-6,000
ft), but somewhat lower in southern Nevada.
Nevada's topography reflects a complex geologic history that remains unstable;
Nevada experiences earthquakes on occasion. Geothermal areas include the
Beowawe Geysers in the north and Steamboat Geyser near Reno. Glaciation
affected 14 mountain ranges; a small ice field remains on Wheeler Peak.
Soils
Mountain soils are thin and poorly developed because of the arid climate,
youthful geology, and steep slopes. Sediments eroded from the mountains
form talus slopes at their bases. Arid valley soils are of low fertility,
except for those near rivers, where alluvium provides fertile farmland.
Salinization is severe, and many valleys contain dry lake beds too salty
to support plant life.
Rivers and Lakes
Except for the Colorado River flowing southwest from Colorado and Utah
and the Columbia River watershed in the north, Nevada lies in the Great
Basin area of interior drainage with only a few small permanent rivers.
The Humboldt River, 467 km (290 mi), is the state's longest. The Carson,
Truckee, and Walker rivers drain the east slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Most streams in the state are ephemeral and flow only after heavy storms.
Nevada has more than 200 lakes, most of which are small reservoirs. Lake
Mead reservoir and Lake Tahoe are the largest bodies of water. During
the Pleistocene Epoch (more than 10,000 years ago), about 90 rain-fed
lakes dotted Nevada. The largest was Lake Lahontan, which covered about
22,450 sq km (8,670 sq mi). Its remnants, Pyramid and Walker lakes, have
each experienced a surface drop of more than 25 m (80 ft) in this century
as a result of upstream diversion.
Climate
Nevada's location in the Sierra Nevada rain shadow makes it the driest
state in the country. Annual precipitation averages 229 mm (9 in), varying
from 76 mm (3 in) in the south to 737 mm (29 in) in the Sierra Nevada.
Most water is derived from mountain snowmelt.
With marine air blocked by its western mountains, Nevada has temperatures
characteristic of a continental location: extremely cold winters and very
hot summers. The topography, dry air, and clear skies result in a wide
diurnal temperature range of about 20 C degrees (36 F degrees) in the
valleys. Southern Nevada is a subtropical desert, with a July mean temperature
of 30 degrees C (86 degrees F) and a January average of 6 degrees C (43
degrees F); the frost-free season lasts from 200 to 250 days. Northwestern
Nevada is cooler throughout the year, with a January mean of -1 degrees
C (30 degrees F) and a July average of 22 degrees C (71 degrees F). Almost
no rain falls in summer, but snow can occur between October and May. The
growing season averages 100 to 140 days. The northeast is the highest,
coolest, and wettest region; its semiarid steppe climate supports sufficient
vegetation for grazing, with a growing season of less than 100 days and
possible frost cover in any month.
Vegetation and Animal Life
Nevada's most common plant is sagebrush. Salt-tolerant soapweed and iodine
bush grow in the mid-latitude desert and creosote bush in the southern
desert. The most common mountain vegetation is a pine nut-juniper woodland.
Aspen, mountain mahogany, sugar pine, and lodgepole pine grow at higher
elevations. Bristlecone pines as old as 4,900 years have been found in
the Toiyabe Range and on Wheeler Peak.
Indigenous mammals include mule deer, coyote, jackrabbit, various rodents,
and wild horses. Meadowlarks, doves, chukars, pheasants, mountain bluebirds,
and migratory waterfowl are common. More than 50 reptile species can be
found in the desert, and rare desert pupfish inhabit several springs.
Resources
Open space is an abundant resource; only about 20% of the land is privately
owned, and most public land is undeveloped. The state's limited water
supply--two-thirds stream flow and one-third groundwater--is unevenly
distributed and already committed, especially to irrigated agriculture.
Nevada's major resources are minerals--gold, copper, silver, lithium,
mercury, tungsten, barite, magnesite, and gypsum.
PEOPLE
Nevada's overall population density is low, but most of the state's residents
live in just two metropolitan areas--Las Vegas and Reno. During the 1980-90
decade the population grew by about 50%, much by migration to these areas.
Clark County alone has more than 60% of the state's residents. The racial
composition of the population is about 85% white, with blacksand Indians
making up less than 10% of the population. Na- tive tribes include the
Northern and Southern Paiute, Western Shoshoni, and Washo. Hispanics make
up about 10% of the population, and they and the Asian population are
the state's fastest-growing ethnic groups. The largest single religious
group is the Roman Catholics, followed by the Mormons.
Education
The state legislature established the first school districts in 1865,
and today each of Nevada's counties is a school district. Institutions
of higher learning include the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and at
Reno (see Nevada, University of). Major scientific institutions include
the Desert Research Institute and the Basque Studies Program in Reno and
the Nevada Nuclear Testing Site at Nellis Air Force Base.
Culture
The state's major museums include the State Museum in Carson City, the
Fleischmann Planetarium and Harrah's automobile collection in Reno, and
art galleries and historical exhibits throughout the state. Las Vegas
supports a symphony orchestra. Nevada's best-known historic sites are
its 100 mining villages, most of which are now ghost towns; Virginia City
is famous as the major focus of the state's early development. Parklands
include Death Valley National Monument; Lake Mead National Recreation
Area; Great Basin National Park, which includes Wheeler Peak and Lehman
Caves; and a number of state parks. The Jarbidge Wilderness and the Ruby
Mountain scenic area are outstanding. Wildlife refuges include Anaho Island
Refuge for pelicans in Pyramid Lake, the Ruby Lakes National Wildlife
Refuge, and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Clark County. There
is also skiing in the state.
Communications
Nevada's largest newspaper is the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the most
influential paper in northern Nevada is the Reno Gazette Journal. The
state also has numerous radio and television broadcasting facilities,
including several cable television systems.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Nevada's economy, built on mining, railroading, and ranching, has changed
dramatically since World War II. The need for an industry requiring little
water brought legalization of gambling in 1931, facilitating tourism's
dominance of the economy. Service industries today account for the great
majority of Nevada's gross state product, and service workers make up
the greatest segment of nonagricultural labor-force employees. The state's
few towns are widely spaced service centers for highway travelers, ranchers,
and the mining industry.Two-thirds of the state is administered by the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management, mostly for grazing, mining, or dispersed
recreation, and another 7% is national forestland. Other federal lands
include military reservations, wildlife refuges, reclamation sites, Indian
lands, and national parklands. Only 1% of Nevada land is state-owned.
Agriculture
Livestock, mostly beef cattle with some sheep and dairy stock, make up
the greater part of agricultural sales. Livestock graze on the open range;
ranchers have legal grazing allotments for a specified number of animals.
Principal crops include barley, hay, potatoes, wheat, alfalfa seed, cotton,
and oats. Much of the produce is used for fodder.
Mining
Nevada is an important mineral-producing state, leading the nation in
the production of gold (the state's most valuable mineral), barite, silver,
and mercury. Other major minerals produced include magnesite, copper,
diatomite, fluorspar, iron ore, lithium, molybdenum, and perlite. Sand,
gravel, and gypsum are also economically important.
Manufacturing
Nevada has a limited manufacturing sector, accounting for only a small
percent of the gross state product. The chief products are chemicals,
processed food, stone, clay, and glass products, electrical equipment,
primary metals, nonelectrical machinery, and printing and publishing.
Most manufacturing firms are located in the large urban areas. Henderson
is the center of heavy industry.
Tourism
Tourism is Nevada's greatest source of income, drawing about 30 million
visitors annually to the state's gambling facilities and scenic beauty.
Principal gambling areas are Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe, but casinos
can be found in most counties. Nevada's liberal regulations for marriage
and divorce bring in nonresidents, and the marriage and divorce rates
are both high. Nevada's best-known attractions are the nightclubs associated
with the hotel-casinos. Events for tourists include rodeos, the annual
Basque Festival in Elko, and the National Championship Air Races in Reno.
Hunting, fishing, camping, boating, and winter sports are also popular.
Transportation
The state's principal highways are Interstate 80 in the north and Interstate
15 in the south. Amtrak provides rail passenger service, and various other
railroads provide freight-carrier service in the state. Nevada's leading
commercial air terminals are McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas
and Reno-Cannon Airport.
Energy
Nevada uses more energy per capita than the national average. It exports
electricity, principally from Clark County's several coal-fired plants
and hydroelectric generators at Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Other
Colorado River dams that provide electric power are the Davis and Glen
Canyon dams. Fuel combustion by motor vehicles and industries has caused
air pollution in the state.
The aboveground nuclear weapons tests of the 1950s at the Nevada Proving
Grounds have been cited as the cause of long-term health damage to residents
downwind. Nevada opened a storage dump for radioactive waste at Beatty,
but in 1979 some of this waste was spilled while in transit, forcing the
state to temporarily close the dump.
GOVERNMENT
The Nevada constitution, adopted in 1864, may be amended only by approval
of two successive legislatures and the electorate. It has been so amended
many times. State revenues are derived primarily from gaming and sales
taxes. The absence of an income or inheritance tax has attracted many
wealthy residents.
In the bicameral legislature, state senators serve 4-year terms, and members
of the assembly, 2-year terms. The governor and lieutenant governor serve
4-year terms, and each may belong to a different political party. Other
elected executive officials are the secretary of state, attorney general,
treasurer, and controller, all of whom serve 4-year terms. The state judicial
system has a supreme court, district courts, city courts, and justice
courts, apportioned on a township basis. The state is divided into 16
counties and one independent city, Carson City. County commissions are
responsible for all areas outside the incorporated towns.
The Republican party dominated Nevada politics from statehood until 1892,
when the Silver party absorbed both the Democratic and Republican parties.
These traditional parties reemerged by 1900, and neither has enjoyed sole
dominance since that time. In 1914, Nevada passed a women's suffrage amendment,
six years before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
HISTORY
The first residents of Nevada were Indians who entered the Great Basin
about 12,000 years ago. Their descendants, a widely scattered hunting
and gathering population, dominated the harsh region until relatively
recent times, as this was the last part of the contiguous United States
to be explored. The first European to see Nevada was probably Francisco
Garces (1738-81), a Spanish Franciscan priest who reached the Colorado
River while journeying through Spanish Mexico. In 1826, Jedediah Strong
Smith reached the Walker River and central Nevada, and the trapper Peter
Skene Ogden (1794-1854) crossed the Humboldt and Carson basins in 1825.
The first systematic observations of the region were made by John C. Fremont
from 1843 to 1845. In 1841 settlers journeying to the west coast began
crossing the Humboldt Valley and the Forty Mile Desert, a route later
followed by the Overland Stage Lines.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Feb. 2, 1848), which concluded the Mexican
War, granted to the United States territory that included present-day
Nevada. The Mormons founded the first permanent settlement at Genoa in
the Carson Valley in 1849 and established a mission in the Las Vegas Valley
in 1855. Monthly mail service across northern Nevada began in 1853. The
pony express route crossed central Nevada beginning in 1860. Service continued
until supplanted by the telegraph in September 1861.
Nevada's major period of growth followed the discovery of the Comstock
Lode at Virginia City in 1858, a strike that yielded $386 million in silver
and gold by the time production stopped in 1921. Between 1860 and 1870,
the population increased from 7,000 to 42,000 residents. In 1861, Nevada
Territory separated from Utah Territory. When statehood was granted on
Oct. 31, 1864, President Lincoln secured the one vote needed for ratification
of the 13th Amendment. The state is often referred to as having been "battle
born," and its nickname, The Silver State, was derived from its Civil
War statehood and from the use of Nevada gold and silver bullion by the
Union forces to obtain credit throughout the war.
The first transcontinental railroad was completed across northern Nevada
in 1869, with the Central Pacific Railroad gaining the valuable freighting
from the Comstock mines. Mining camps flourished and died until, in the
early 1900s, the major Tonopah and Goldfield strikes established Nevada
as a major source of industrial metals. Cattle ranching began in the 1860s,
and sheep raising became important in the 1870s, both activities pursued
by Basques.
Water supplies have been a concern. In 1906-08, Dr. J. E. Church of the
University of Nevada developed snow survey techniques now used throughout
the world to forecast snowmelt runoff. The Prior Appropriation Doctrine
prevails over distributing the limited supply; water is granted to the
earliest established users. In 1905 the first federal reclamation scheme
was completed near Fallon to irrigate croplands with waters from the Truckee
River. This caused shrinkage of Pyramid Lake and affected the fishery
that supported the Indians there.
Urban growth has also increased water demands; Las Vegas has grown dramatically
since 1950, and the pumping of groundwater has lowered the water table,
resulting in land subsidence. Use of Colorado River water can meet the
region's immediate needs, but river rights are limited. Nevada's future
prosperity will depend on tourism and other industries that consume little
water.
Rangeland suitable for the support of livestock has deteriorated despite
grazing controls, partly due to the expansion of the wild horse population,
which more than tripled in the first six years following passage (1971)
of the protective Wild Horse and Burro Act. Such problems moved the Nevada
legislature to pass the "Sagebrush Rebellion" act in 1979 authorizing
the state to sue for possession of federal lands.
Minerals continue to be important, but metal extraction remains a boom-and-bust
operation. Although the 1978 shutdown of copper mines had little effect
on the overall state economy, it had a severe impact on White Pine County.
Most nonmetallic minerals used in manufacturing and construction, however,
are abundant. Some geothermal areas have been developed, and solar heating
equipment is marketed.
Tourism remains Nevada's most important industry, although in the 1980s
efforts toward diversification of the state's economy have met with some
success. There is a continuing need for planning to control congestion,
pollution, and housing costs so that Nevada can maintain a pleasant living
environment.
John G. Houghton
Bibliography: Angel, M., ed., History of Nevada (1881; repr. 1992); Bancroft,
H. H., History of Nevada, 1540-1888 (1982); Elliott, R. R., and Rowley,
W. D., History of Nevada, 2d ed. (1987); Federal Writers' Project, Nevada
(1940; repr. 1989); Glass, M. E. and A., Touring Nevada (1983); Laxalt,
R., Nevada: A Bicentennial History (1991); Morgan, K. O., et al., Nevada
in Perspective (1994); Pahler, S. W., Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps,
2 vols. (1993); Patterson, N., et al., Nevada's Northeast Frontier (1991);
Shepperson, W. S., ed., East of Eden, West of Zion: Essays on Nevada (1989);
Swan, S., and Laufer, P., Neon Nevada (1994); Winnett, T., et al., Sierra
South, 6th ed. (1993).
(c) 1996 Grolier, Inc.
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