Nevada Land Information Guide

Geography And Climate Of Nevada

Nevada is one of the larger states of the Union, measuring in at 110,567 square miles, 490 miles north to south and 322 miles east to west at its farthest points. This makes Nevada the seventh largest state by area. The most well known city in Nevada and the center of Nevada commerce is Las Vegas. Nevada is largely desert, with the Mojave Desert in the south and the Great Basin in the north. It also contains many mountain ranges.

The geographic makeup of Nevada creates typical desert conditions throughout a large part of the state, with dry, blistering heat during the day and occasionally frigid temperatures at night, especially in the winter months. Temperatures can easily exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and fall to the 20s in the winter. There is very little rainfall in Nevada.

History Of Nevada

Nevada came to be in 1861 when the Sierra Nevada territory separated from Utah. In 1864, Nevada officially became a state, the 36th state of the union at that time. For the first 65 years or so, Nevada was primarily known as a mining state. That all changed in 1931, when the state legalized gambling to boost the economy. A few casinos opened up on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, but the city really began to become the gambling Mecca it is known as today in 1946 when gangster Bugsy Siegel built the Flamingo Hotel. Although the experiment was a loss for Bugsy (who was executed soon after), it was the genesis of the Las Vegas strip, a four mile section of Las Vegas Boulevard lined with spectacular hotels. Today, millions of people flock to Nevada every year to visit Las Vegas and try their luck.

Demographics Of Nevada

Nevada has a population of roughly 2,565,382, which is not very dense relative to the size of the state; however, much of the state is pure desert and uninhabitable. That being said, Nevada is the second fastest growing state in the union according to the Census Bureau. Over two-thirds of the Nevada population lives in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Nevada has the most residents who were born out of state. Nevada is mostly white, about 65 percent, with roughly 20 percent Hispanic, seven percent African American and six percent Asian American. Nevada is about half men and half women with 60 percent of the population between the ages of 18 and 65. Twenty-seven percent of Nevadans identify as Catholic while 37 percent affiliate with some other form of Christianity. Twenty percent of residents do not claim any religious affiliation.

Economy Of Nevada

The Nevada total state product in 2006 was $117 billion, owing largely to the state’s gambling opportunities and resort communities. In addition to Las Vegas, hotel casino enclaves in Reno, Lake Tahoe and Laughlin attract hundreds of thousands of people and millions of dollars every year. Prostitution is also legal in Nevada, but not in all counties. Outside of the cities, mining is still a favored economic activity as is cattle ranching. Gold mining is still quite viable in Nevada, with $2.84 billion worth mined in 2004. Nevada has no state income tax and no corporate income tax, although they do impose sales tax.

Nevada Law And Government

The State capital of Nevada is Carson City and the Governor of Nevada is Republican Jim Gibbons. Nevada’s two U.S. Senators are Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign. There is no appellate court system in Nevada; the Supreme Court hears all appeals. Nevada is famous for its extremely liberal laws in the social arena. Unlike almost every other state, most forms of gambling are legal as is prostitution. In addition, marriage and divorce are extremely easy to obtain in Nevada, and many people choose to come to Nevada for a “quickie” marriage or divorce. Nevada is a swing state in major elections, with both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush having won the state twice. Roughly 38 percent of Nevada voters are registered Republicans, while about 42 percent are Democrats.

Nevada Transportation

Amtrak has a number of trains that service Nevada, from the California Zephyr that serves Reno to the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches that connect Las Vegas with Los Angeles, Needles and Bakersfield and connect Stateline with Sacramento. Those traveling by car from California to Las Vegas will take Interstate 15. The Citizens Area Transit (CAT) is the Las Vegas public transportation system, consisting primarily of buses. There is also a monorail system servicing Las Vegas.

Major Cities And Towns Of Nevada

Naturally the most important city in Nevada is Las Vegas, in Clark County, with a population of 591,536, although many more may be there at any given time. The second largest city with respect to land area and population is Henderson, also in Clark County. Other important Nevada cities include Reno in Washoe County and the capital, Carson City, located in the Western bend of the state.

Nevada Educational System

The most well known higher educational institution in Nevada is probably the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or UNLV. UNLV has a 337-acre campus about a mile and a half from the Las Vegas Strip and features degree programs in most of the traditional arts and sciences as well as areas like hotel administration, business and nursing. UNLV has an active Division 1 sports program and is probably best known for its basketball team. In 1990, the “Runnin’ Rebels, led by Coach Jerry “Tark the Shark” Tarkanian, famous for chewing towels to relieve stress on the sidelines, won the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship, scoring over 100 points in the championship game.

Nevada Sports Teams And Recreation Activities

Nevada is a state rife with recreational opportunities. With its many mountain ranges, mountain climbing and hiking can be an option, as can swimming and boating. Within Las Vegas of course, gambling is a very popular activity, as is taking in shows and enjoying other forms of nightlife.

While Nevada does not have any major professional sports teams, they do host the Las Vegas 51s, a Los Angeles Dodgers minor league franchise. The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels are a popular college basketball team and there are two East Coast Hockey League teams, the Las Vegas Wranglers and the Reno Raiders. For the one season that the XFL football league operated, Nevada had a team, the Las Vegas Outlaws. Nevada has also had two Arena Football League teams in the past, the Las Vegas Sting and the Las Vegas Gladiators.