Information AboutNevada |
Nevada is a State located in the Western United States . Geography Nevada has borders with Oregon and Idaho to the north; California to the west; Arizona to the southeast; and Utah to the east. The border with Arizona includes the Colorado River and Hoover Dam . See Also: list of mountain ranges of Nevada Negotiations are currently underway for Nevada to annex Wendover, Utah , which would be merged with West Wendover, Nevada . This deal will require the permission of both the Nevada and Utah legislatures and the U.S. Congress. Areas maintained by the National Park Service include:
History Derived from the Priest Kino expeditions at the end of the XVII century through north Mexico and south U.S., Nevada passed to Spanish control, belonging to the Viceroyalty of New Spain . In 1821 became part of the First Mexican Empire of Agustin De Iturbide , until 1823 , and afterwards of Mexico . As a result of the Mexico-American War of 1847-48 and based on the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty , Nevada became part of the United States. On August 14 , 1850 , the U.S. Congress established the Utah Territory which included the present day states of Utah , Idaho and Nevada. 1859 saw the discovery of the Comstock Lode , a rich outcropping of gold and silver, and Virginia City sprang up. This discovery brought a flood of miners, prospectors, merchants and others hoping to strike it rich. On March 2 , 1861 , Nevada separated from the Utah territory and adopted its current name, shortened from ''Sierra Nevada'' ( Spanish for "snowy range"). On October 31 , 1864 , just eight days prior to the Presidential Election , Nevada became the 36th state in the union. Statehood was rushed through despite Nevada's tiny population to help ensure Abraham Lincoln 's reelection and post-Civil War Republican dominance in congress. As Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more industrialized Union , it was viewed as politically reliable (as opposed to the more Agrarian and Confederate -sympathizing California ). Nevada achieved its current boundaries on May 5 , 1866 when it absorbed the portion of Pah-Ute County in the Arizona Territory west of the Colorado River. The transfer was prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and it was thought that Nevada would be better able to oversee the expected population boom. This area includes most of what is now Clark County, Nevada . Mining shaped Nevada's economy for many years. In the late 19th Century , the Comstock Lode played out, and Nevada went into a tailspin. There was even talk of stripping away statehood, the only time in American history such an action was discussed in Congress. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900 helped save the state. This was soon followed by strikes in Goldfield and Rhyolite in the following years. These strikes lasted well into the 1910s and made Nevada a dominant player in mining once again. Over 87% of the land is owned by the Federal Government. The primary reason for this is that Homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze Livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for Agriculture without access to water (this pattern of Ranching still prevails). The deficiencies in the Homestead Act as applied to Nevada were probably due to a lack of understanding of the Nevada environment, although some firebrands (so-called "Sagebrush Rebels") maintain that it was due to pressure from mining interests to keep land out of the hands of common folk. Gambling was common in the early Nevada mining towns but was outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming crusade. Due to a sharp decline in mining output in the 1920s and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression , Nevada re-legalized gambling on March 19 , 1931 , when senate bill 98 was signed into law. At the time, the leading proponents of gambling expected that it would be a short term fix until the state's economic base widened to include less cyclical industries. However, re-outlawing gambling has never been seriously considered since. In 1931, construction began on Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. Thousands of workers from across the country came to build the dam, and providing for their needs in turn required many more workers. The dam, and later war industries such as the Basic Magnesium Plant, first started the growth of the southern area of the state. Over the next 75 years, Clark County grew in relation to the Reno area, until today it encompasses most of the state's population. Demographics According to the Census Bureau, as of 2005, Nevada has an estimated population of 2,414,807, which is an increase of 81,909, or 3.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 416,550, or 20.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 81,661 people (that is 170,451 births minus 88,790 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 337,043 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 66,098 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 270,945 people. Nevada is the fastest growing state in the country. Between 2000 and 2003, Nevada's population increased 12.2%, while the USA's population increased 3.3%. Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada's population increased 66.3%, while the USA's population increased 13.1%. Over two thirds of the population of the state lives in the fast-growing Las Vegas Metropolitan Area . If Congress were reapportioned using 2005 data, Nevada would gain a representative seat, for a total of 4. Religion The religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are:
Economy The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Nevada's total state product in 2003 was $88 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $31,910, 19th in the nation. Its agricultural outputs are cattle, hay, dairy products, onions and potatoes. Its industrial outputs are tourism, mining, machinery, printing and publishing, food processing, and electric equipment. It is well-known for gambling and nightlife. Large, luxurious casinos in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno attract visitors from around the world. Mines control a large percentage of Nevada's economy. Gold from the Carlin Trend in Northern Nevada is the second richest mining area in the world. Gold isn't the only mineral found in Nevada but other minerals, such as copper, molybdenum, and lithium, are also mined. Nevada is also one of only a few states with no personal income tax . The state Sales Tax in Nevada is 6.5 percent. Counties can assess Option Tax es as well, making the combined state/county sales taxes rate in some areas as high as 7.5 percent. Transportation .]] , US-50 , US-93 , US-95 and US-395 . There are also 189 Nevada State Highways . The state is one of just a few in the country that allow Semi-trailer combinations with three trailers—what might be called a " Road Train " in Australia . However, American versions are usually smaller, in part because they must ascend and descend some fairly steep mountain passes. has Trackage Rights to the Union Pacific lines in the north. Amtrak provides bus services from Las Vegas to also provides some bus services. Las Vegas has a bus network and a Monorail system that is being extended. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is one of the busiest airports in the United States. There are also bus services in Reno/Sparks, and from there to Carson City. Some counties do not have public transport at all, for example Eureka County. Law and government Nevada's governor is Kenny Guinn ( Republican ). Nevada's two U.S. Senators are Harry Reid ( Democrat ) and John Ensign (Republican). Legislature Nevada has a bicameral Legislature , divided into a Senate and an Assembly . Members of the Senate serve for 4 years, and members of the Assembly serve for 2 years. Each session of the Legislature meets for 4 months every two years, or longer if the Governor calls a special session. Currently, the Senate is controlled by the Republican Party and the Assembly is controlled by the Democratic Party. Judiciary ]] Nevada is one of the few U.S. states without a system of intermediate appellate courts. It has a State Supreme Court , the Supreme Court Of Nevada , which hears all appeals. The court lacks the power of discretionary review, so Nevada's judicial system is extremely congested. Original jurisdiction is divided between the District Courts (with general jurisdiction), and Justice Courts and Municipal Courts (both of limited jurisdiction). Unusual laws In 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a "barren desert" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next: :Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... Nevada's early reputation as a "divorce haven" arose from the fact that prior to the No-fault Divorce revolution in the 1970s, Divorce s were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. To boost its fragile economy, Nevada adopted one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation. This resulted in '' Williams V. North Carolina '', , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina had to give " Full Faith And Credit " to a Nevada divorce. Nevada is currently the only state that has different ages of consent for different sexual practices. An adult may have "ordinary ). Nevada laws allow court judges to put ducttape on defendants' mouths if they cannot keep quiet. Usually, a bailiff keeps a roll of ducttape. Politics Due to the tremendous growth of Las Vegas in recent years, there is a noticeable divide between politics of northern and southern Nevada. The north has long maintained control of key positions in the state government even while the Las Vegas area is larger than the rest of the state (the "cow counties"). This has fostered resentment as the north sees the south as a potential bully of majority rule and the south sees the north as the "old guard" trying to rule as an Oligarchy . Most people outside the state are not familiar with this rivalry. The state is not dominated by either major political party. Democrat Bill Clinton won the state in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections and Republican George Bush won Nevada in 2000 and 2004 . In 2004, George Bush narrowly won the state's 5 electoral votes by a margin of 2 percentage points with 50.5% of the vote. Las Vegas' Clark County, which contains the majority of the state's population, was the only county to vote Democratic. Important cities and towns The largest city is Las Vegas . Note: table was compiled using Nevada State estimates from 2004 for population and Census 2000 for area and density See Also: List of cities in Nevada 10 richest places in Nevada Ranked by Per Capita Income # Incline Village-Crystal Bay, Nevada $52,521 # Kingsbury, Nevada $41,451 # Mount Charleston, Nevada $38,821 # Verdi-Mogul, Nevada $38,233 # Zephyr Cove-Round Hill Village, Nevada $37,218 # Summerlin South, Nevada $33,017 # Blue Diamond, Nevada $30,479 # Minden, Nevada $30,405 # Boulder City, Nevada $29,770 # Spanish Springs, Nevada $26,908 Education Colleges and universities
Professional sports teams
Miscellaneous topics Nevada's nickname is "The Silver State" or "The Sagebrush State", and the state's motto is "All for Our Country". " Home Means Nevada " by Bertha Rafetto is the state song. The phrase "Battle Born" is on the state flag; "The Battle Born State" is the official state slogan, as Nevada was admitted into the union during the American Civil War . Although the name is derived from the Spanish word ''nevada'' meaning "snowy", the local pronunciation of the state's name is not (in IPA ) , but . Residents often regard the pronunciation as a test of whether visitors such as presidential candidates, have informed themselves about the state. In 2005, the state issued a new series of license plates that list the name of the state as NevÄda to help with the pronunciation problem. Several United States Navy ships have been named USS ''Nevada'' in honor of the state. Nevada is the only state with legalized Prostitution . Nevada is also reputedly the home of Area 51 , a top-secret installation of which the U.S. federal government has always denied existence. Area 51 is supposedly located in Groom Lake, near Nellis Air Force Base . The paranormal radio talk show host Art Bell lives in Pahrump, Nevada . State symbols
Famous Nevadans
A fictional history (with a great deal of fact) titled '' Nevada '' was written by Clint McCullough . See also
References External links
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