Nevada

**Nevada** is one of the United States' states. Its capital is Carson City. The largest city is Las Vegas. Other big cities are Henderson and Reno. More than two-thirds of the people live in the Las Vegas urban area.

Most of Nevada is in the Great Basin. It is the driest state in the United States.

Nevada was first inhabited by Native Americans. It was colonized by Spain and was part of New Spain. Later, it was part of New Mexico. It was taken by the United States in the Mexican–American War.

The most common ancestries in Nevada include Mexican, German, Irish, English, Italian and Asian. Many White people and Hispanics live in the state.

## History

Nevada was originally founded in 1821 as part of the First Mexican Empire. The Mexican Empire turned into the Mexican Republic in 1823, along with Nevada. Before the arrival of Europeans, Nevada was inhabited by Native American tribes including the Shoshone, the Paiute, the Washoe, and the Mohave.

### The Mexican-American Conflict

Fighting between the United States and Mexico started. They fought over what was to become the Southwestern United States and who could own this land. This was called the Mexican-American War. The war ended in an American victory in 1848. Nevada later became an American territory in 1861. It was called the "Nevada Territory". This was not all of Nevada as it is today. The eastern part of Nevada was part of "Utah Territory"  and the southern part was part of "New Mexico". In 1859 in the Comstock Lode, gold and silver were first discovered. This started a huge growth in mining in the state which Nevada is known for.

### Gaining statehood

On October 31, 1864, now celebrated as "Nevada Day", Nevada was made the 36th state in the United States. It was given the distinct shape resembling a rectangle with a triangle. It was named _Nevada_ meaning "snowy land" in Spanish, because it was snowy in the North. Later, on May 5, 1866, Nevada got its current borders because the Pah-Ute County in Arizona was taken as part of Nevada. It is now Clark County, Nevada. It was also agreed upon that the western part of Utah would become Eastern Nevada.

## Economy

Tourism is very important to the economy of Nevada. Many people visit Las Vegas, which has many casinos and resorts. There is not as much farming as there is in some other states, because Nevada is so dry. However, mining is big in Nevada. More gold is mined in Nevada than in any other state.

## Related pages

- Colleges and universities in Nevada
- List of counties in Nevada

## Other websites

- State of Nevada official website

## Infobox (u.s. state)

- **name**: Nevada
- **official name**: State of Nevada
- **image flag**: Flag of Nevada.svg
- **flag link**: Flag of Nevada
- **image seal**: State Seal of Nevada.svg
- **image map**: Nevada in United States.svg
- **nickname**: The Silver State (official);
Sagebrush State; Battle Born State
- **population demonym**: Nevadan
- **motto**: All for Our Country
- **anthem**: "Home Means Nevada"
- **former**: Nevada Territory, Utah Territory, Arizona Territory
- **seat**: Carson City, Nevada, Carson City
- **largestcity**: Las Vegas
- **largestcounty**: Nye County, Nevada, Nye
- **largestmetro**: Las Vegas Valley
- **governor**: Joe Lombardo (Republican Party (United States), R)
- **lieutenant governor**: Stavros Anthony (R)
- **legislature**: Nevada Legislature
- **upperhouse**: Nevada Senate, Senate
- **lowerhouse**: Nevada Assembly, Assembly
- **senators**: Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
Jacky Rosen (D)
- **representative**:

- **postal code**: NV
- **tradabbreviation**: Nev.
- **officiallang**: None
- **area rank**: 7th
- **area total sq mi**: List of U.S. states and territories by area, 110,577
- **area total km2**: 286,382
- **area land sq mi**: 109,781.18
- **area land km2**: 284,332
- **weather**: Top 107 Low 54
- **landrank**: 52nd
- **area water sq mi**: 791
- **area water km2**: 2,048
- **area water percent**: 0.72
- **population as of**: 2019
- **population rank**: 32nd
- **2010pop**: 3,080,156
- **population density rank**: 42nd
- **2000densityus**: 26.8
- **2000density**: 10.3
- **medianhouseholdincome**: $58,003
- **incomerank**: 27th
- **admittanceorder**: 36th
- **admittancedate**: October 31, 1864
- **timezone1**: Pacific Time Zone, Pacific
- **utc offset1**: −08:00
- **timezone1 dst**: Pacific Daylight Time, PDT
- **utc offset1 dst**: −07:00
- **timezone1 location**: most of state
- **timezone2**: Mountain Time Zone (North America), Mountain
- **utc offset2**: −07:00
- **timezone2 dst**: Mountain Daylight Time, MDT
- **utc offset2 dst**: −06:00
- **timezone2 location**: West Wendover, Nevada, West Wendover
- **longitude**: 114° 2′ W to 120° W
- **latitude**: 35° N to 42° N
- **width mi**: 322
- **width km**: 519
- **length mi**: 492
- **length km**: 787
- **elevation max point**: Boundary Peak (Nevada), Boundary Peak
- **elevation max ft**: 13,147
- **elevation max m**: 4007.1
- **elevation ft**: 5,500
- **elevation m**: 1680
- **elevation min point**: Colorado River at
- **elevation min ft**: 481
- **elevation min m**: 147
- **iso code**: US-NV
- **website**: http://www.nv.gov/


## Infobox (u.s. state symbols)

- **flag**: Flag of Nevada.svg
- **seal**: State Seal of Nevada.svg
- **name**: Nevada
- **bird**: Mountain bluebird (_Sialia currucoides_)
- **fish**: Lahontan cutthroat trout (_Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi_)
- **flower**: Sagebrush (_Artemisia tridentata_)
- **mammal**: Desert bighorn sheep
- **reptile**: Desert tortoise (_Gopherus agassizii_)
- **tree**: Bristlecone pine (_Pinus monophylla_)
- **mineral**: Silver
- **rock**: Sandstone
- **other**: Element: Neon
- **route marker**: Nevada 147.svg
- **quarter**: 2006 NV Proof.png
- **quarterreleasedate**: 2006