We’re excited you’re here!
Are you ready to learn some amazing things about your home state?
Out of the 50 states in the U.S.A.,
Nevada is the 7th largest state,
and is also known as the Silver State because of the importance of silver to our history and economy.
State Motto: Battle Born
Nevada is known as the “Battle Born State” because it achieved statehood during the Civil War, becoming the 36th state on October 31, 1864. That’s right, Nevada’s birthday is on Halloween! 🎃
Icons of Nevada
State Mammal: Desert Bighorn SheepThese unique animals can climb extremely steep, rocky desert mountains and terrain with speed and agility thanks to their concave elastic hooves.
State Bird: Mountain BluebirdMountain bluebirds are fairly small with round heads and straight, thin bills. Compared with other bluebirds, they are lanky and long-winged, with a long tail.
State Trees: Bristlecone & Piñon PineBristlecone pines are the oldest living trees on Earth and can be up to 5,000 years old. The piñon pine is a close relative of the bristlecone and can live up to 600 years old.
State Reptile: Desert TortoiseThe desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years. At least 95% of their lives are spent in burrows to escape extreme heat and cold.
State Fish: Lahontan Cutthroat TroutNative to Pyramid and Walker Lakes, these fish were incredibly important to the Paiute tribe. They are one of three subspecies listed as federally threatened.
Explore the history of Nevada
Prehistoric
180-190 MILLION YEARS OLD Sandstone is the State Rock of Nevada. Much of what is now Nevada was an early Mesozoic ocean. Sandstone, and its rainbow-like appearance, is what remains 190 million years later.
Sandstone
3 MILLION YEARS OLD These prehistoric elephants roamed what was then a marshy western Nevada some 3 million to 3.5 million years ago.
Mastodon
225 MILLION YEARS OLD The icthyosaur is Nevada’s State Fossil. They swam in an ocean that covered central Nevada 225 million years ago and could be 50 feet long.
Icthyosaur
225 million years ago
Ancient Artifacts
DID YOU KNOW?
Nevada is home to more than 300 natural hot springs.
10,000 B.C. Long ago, humans would carve drawings onto rocks. Sometimes, these rocks can show how life was like thousands of years ago.
Petroglyphs
400 B.C. Thousands of years ago, American Indians would craft this duck to use as a decoy in their hunting sessions.
Tule Duck
10,000 BC
Nevada’s Beginnings
STARTED 1849 Nevada, even until today, leads the U.S. in gold production, with silver a close second. The state also produces opal, turquoise, and other gems.
Nevada Mining
MID-1800s Hailing from the sheepherding border region of France and Spain, Basque immigrants first came to Nevada in the mid-1800s during the Gold Rush.
Basque Settlers
1860-1861 Dozens of horseback riders carried mail on this 1,800 mile trail between Sacramento, California and St. Louis, Missouri, and ran straight across what is now Nevada’s Highway 50.
Pony Express
STARTED 1849 In the 1850s, the largest discovery of silver, known as Comstock Lode, started Nevada’s mining boom.
Nevada Mining
Nevada Legends Kit Carson, who Nevada’s capital is named after, was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, army officer and Native American liaison who made important contributions to westward expansion. Mark Twain lived in Virginia City and Carson City from 1861-1864. He famously wrote Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His book, Roughing It was inspired by Nevada.
1800 A.D.
Modern Day
Nevada is more than 80% public land which makes it a great destination for hiking, mountain biking, skiing and camping. With 10 awesome road trips, you can explore for hundreds of miles!
Going Out
Known as the “Entertainment Capital of the World,” Las Vegas is a gaming giant, and one of the most traveled tourist destinations.
Las Vegas
BUILT IN 1955 Area 51 does exist! This facility, patrolled and guarded by the U.S. Air Force, has some of the heaviest security on Earth, or anywhere else!
Area 51
Lake Tahoe features many breathtaking views of the lake, along with many ski resorts around its mountains. Lake Tahoe is actually shared by both Nevada and California!
Lake Tahoe
BUILT IN THE 1930s One of the 7 Wonders of the Industrial World! Hoover Dam sits on the Nevada/Arizona border where it impounds Lake Mead. It provides power to Arizona, California, and Nevada.
Hoover Dam
DID YOU KNOW?
Nevada has more ghost towns than real towns! There are only 100 locales with zip codes compared to 600+ ghost towns.
State Mammal:
State Bird:
State Trees:
State Reptile:
State Fish:
