Most of Nevada is in theGreat Basin. It is the driest state in the United States.[6]
Nevada was first inhabited by Native Americans. It was colonized bySpain and was part ofNew Spain. Later, it was part of New Mexico. It was taken by the United States in theMexican–American War.
The most common ancestries in Nevada include Mexican, German, Irish, English, Italian and Asian.[7] ManyWhite people and Hispanics live in the state.
Nevada was originallyfounded in 1821 as part of the FirstMexican Empire. The Mexican Empire turned into the MexicanRepublic in 1823, along with Nevada. Before the arrival of Europeans, Nevada was inhabited byNative American tribes including the Shoshone, the Paiute, the Washoe, and the Mohave.
Fighting between the United States and Mexico started. They fought over what was to become theSouthwestern United States and who could own this land. This was called theMexican-American War. The war ended in an Americanvictory 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 theComstock Lode,gold andsilver were first discovered. This started a huge growth inmining in the state which Nevada is known for.
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 namedNevada meaning "snowy land" inSpanish, because it wassnowy in the North. Later, on May 5, 1866, Nevada got its current borders because thePah-Ute County inArizona was taken as part of Nevada. It is nowClark County, Nevada. It was also agreed upon that the western part of Utah would become Eastern Nevada.
Tourism is very important to the economy of Nevada.[8] Many people visitLas Vegas, which has manycasinos 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. Moregold is mined in Nevada than in any other state.[9]
↑ The distinction of highest point in Nevada goes to the summit of Boundary Peak, so named because it is very near the Nevada–California border, at the northern terminus of the White Mountains. However, Boundary Peak can be considered a subsidiary summit of Montgomery Peak, whose summit is in California, since thetopographic prominence of Boundary Peak is only 253 feet (77m), which falls under the often used 300-foot (91m) cutoff for an independent peak. Also, Boundary Peak is less than 1 mile (1.6km) away from its higher neighbor. Hence Boundary Peak can be described as not being wholly within Nevada. By contrast, the prominence of Wheeler Peak, 13,063 feet (3,982m), is quite large and in fact it is the twelfth largest in the contiguous United States. Wheeler Peak is the highest point in a radius of more than 200 square miles (520km2) and is entirely within the state of Nevada.
