Facts About Nevada

Nevada is Spanish for "snow-capped"
Entered Union: October 31, 1864 (36th state)
Population: 2.6 million (2008)
Area: 110,540 square miles (seventh largest in the country; 86.5 percent of the land is owned by the federal government); 485 miles long, 315 miles wide
Circumference: 1,469 miles
Boundaries: Utah, Arizona, Idaho, California, Oregon
Climate: Semiarid and arid; Nevada is the driest state in the nation.
Capital: Carson City
Motto (on state seal): All for our country
Slogan (on state flag): Battle-born
Animal: Desert Bighorn Sheep
Flower: Sagebrush
Bird: Mountain bluebird
Fish: Lahontan Cuthroat Trout
Fossil: Ichthyosaur
Gems: Black fire opal and turquoise
Grass: Indian ricegrass
Metal: Silver
Reptile: Desert Tortoise
Rock: Sandstone
Tree: The Single-Leaf Piñon and the Bristlecone Pine
Nicknames: Battle-born State; Sagebrush State; Silver State
Colors: Silver and blue
Counties (17): Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, White Pine.
Song: Home Means Nevada
The lowest temperature in Nevada was -50 degrees F, recorded at San Jacinto, Elko County, on January 8, 1937.
Nevada has two national parks: Great Basin in East Central Nevada and Death Valley, 100 miles NW of Las Vegas on the border with California.
Twelve percent of Nevada is covered by forests. Sixty percent of Nevada countryside is covered by sagebrush.
Petroglyphs have been found in 16 of the 17 Nevada counties. There are 99 sites known so far.
Laughlin is Nevada's hottest spot and the nation's second hottest. Temperature was 122 degrees on June 26, 1990. 122 degrees F was also recorded at Overton, Clark County, on June 23, 1954.
Nevada has the largest number of wild horses, 28,000, which is 70 percent of the wild horses believed to roam free in the US.
Poison oak can be found only in a canyon near Pyramid Lake.
Nevada ranks first in gold production, producing 60 percent of the gold of US. It ranks the second largest gold production region in the world (after South Africa). It is also the first in silver production.
On October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36^th state. Celebrated every year as Nevada Day.
Highest elevation: 13,140 ft (Boundery Peak, on the Nevada-California border, west of Tonopah); the highest point in Southern Nevada is Charleston Peak (30 miles west of Las Vegas): 11,918 ft.
Lowest elevation: 470 ft (Colorado river, south of Laughlin).
Nevada's longest underground river is Amargosa.
Nevada is a mountainous state. It has 314 ranges. Seen from above, they look like "caterpillars crawling toward Mexico."

Nevada Day is a legal holiday. Although Nevada's birthday is October 31, 1864, the holiday is observed on the last Friday in October, as of 1997.