Nevada
State in western USA; nicknamed Silver State/Sagebrush State
Area:
286,400 sq km/110,550 sq mi
Capital:
Carson City
Towns and Cities:
Las Vegas, Reno
Physical:
Mojave Desert; lakes: Tahoe, Pyramid, Mead; mountains and plateaus
alternating with valleys; plutonium and other radioactive materials
are leaking out through cracks in the rocks around an underground nuclear-weapons
testing site, and ground water and wild animals near the site have been
found to be contaminated
Features:
The most arid state; Great Basin national park, with Wheeler Peak (3,981
m/13,061 ft), and the Lehman Caves; Red Rock Canyon; Hoover Dam and
Lake Mead (the largest artificial lake in the W hemisphere); Valley
of Fire state park, with Pueblo Indian rock drawings and brightly coloured
rock formations; Virginia City national historic district; legal gambling
and prostitution in some counties; Las Vegas, a gambling resort, with
casino hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, the easiest place to get married
in the USA; Reno, known for gambling and easy divorces
Industries:
Mercury, barite, gold
Population:
(1995) 1,530,100
History:
Explored by Kit Carson and John C Fremont 1843-45; ceded to the USA
after the Mexican War 1848; first permanent settlement a Mormon
trading post 1848. Discovery of silver (the Comstock Lode) 1858
led to rapid population growth and statehood 1864. The building
of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s provided the water and power needed
for the growth of Las Vegas. In 1931 the state created two industries:
divorce (Reno) and gambling (Las Vegas). Oil was discovered 1954,
but gold exceeds all other mineral production. Tourism and gambling
now generate more than half of the state's income.
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