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.https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html

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.Nevada 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

References

Other websites

 State of Nevada official website


Category:1864 establishments in the United States
Category:Western United States