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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.[5]
Nevada | |
|---|---|
| State of Nevada | |
 Seal | |
| Nickname(s): The Silver State (official); Sagebrush State; Battle Born State | |
| Motto: All for Our Country | |
| Anthem: "Home Means Nevada" | |
 Map of the United States with Nevada highlighted | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Nevada Territory, Utah Territory, Arizona Territory |
| Admitted to the Union | October 31, 1864 (36th) |
| Capital | Carson City |
| Largest city | Las Vegas |
| Largest county or equivalent | Nye |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Las Vegas Valley |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Joe Lombardo (R) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Stavros Anthony (R) |
| Legislature | Nevada Legislature |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | Assembly |
| U.S. senators | Catherine Cortez Masto (D) Jacky Rosen (D) |
| U.S. House delegation | 1: Dina Titus (D) 2: Mark Amodei (R) 3: Susie Lee (D) 4: Steven Horsford (D) (list) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 110,577 sq mi (286,382 km2) |
| • Land | 109,781.18 sq mi (284,332 km2) |
| • Water | 791 sq mi (2,048 km2) 0.72% |
| • Rank | 7th |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 492 mi (787 km) |
| • Width | 322 mi (519 km) |
| Elevation | 5,500 ft (1,680 m) |
| Highest elevation | 13,147 ft (4,007.1 m) |
| Lowest elevation | 481 ft (147 m) |
| Population (2019) | |
| • Total | 3,080,156 |
| • Rank | 32nd |
| • Density | 26.8/sq mi (10.3/km2) |
| • Rank | 42nd |
| • Median household income | $58,003 [4] |
| • Income rank | 27th |
| Demonym | Nevadan |
| Language | |
| • Official language | None |
| Time zones | |
| most of state | UTC−08:00 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| West Wendover | UTC−07:00 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | NV |
| ISO 3166 code | US-NV |
| Traditional abbreviation | Nev. |
| Latitude | 35° N to 42° N |
| Longitude | 114° 2′ W to 120° W |
| Website | www |
| Nevada state symbols | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Living insignia | |
| 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) |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Mineral | Silver |
| Rock | Sandstone |
| Other | Element: Neon |
| State route marker | |
 | |
| State quarter | |
 Released in 2006 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
Most of Nevada is in the Great Basin. It is the driest state in the United States.[6]
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.[7] Many White people and Hispanics live in the state.
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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.
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Tourism is very important to the economy of Nevada.[8] 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.[9]
Basin and Range 
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