Maps of Nevada

Nevada, also nicknamed the “Silver State”, is a landlocked, state located in the western US. Oregon and Idaho border it to the north, Utah and Arizona to the east, Arizona to the south and California to the south and west.

Nevada's capital is Carson City, situated in the state’s far west. The most populous city, however, is Las Vegas, located at the southern tip, with a metropolitan area of over 2.2 million people.

Native American tribes such as the Washoe, Southern Paiute, and Western Shoshone have lived on the land that is now Las Vegas for thousands of years. Spain claimed the land in 1519, later to become part of Mexico following Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821. It became a US territory in 1848, officially becoming the 36th US state in 1864.

Area

Nevada has a total area of 110,572 square miles (286,380 square kilometers), making it the seventh-largest state by size. Of this total area, only 791 square miles (2,049 square kilometers) are water. The state is roughly the same size as Italy and half the size of Kenya. Compared to other US states, it is twice the size of Iowa and six times smaller than Alaska.

Bodies of Water

Nevada has around 141,796 miles of rivers. Two notable rivers in the state include the Colorado River, forming much of Nevada’s southern border, and the Truckee River, which flows through Lake Tahoe in Western Nevada. The state is also home to significant lakes, including Lake Tahoe, the largest freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada region, and Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., located in southern Nevada.

Geographic Regions

Three regions compose Nevada’s terrain: The Columbia Plateau, Sierra Nevada, and Basin and Range Region.

Columbia Plateau

Created from hardened lava, the Columbia Plateau sits in the northeastern corner of Nevada. It consists of deep canyons and high ridges, carved by water over the course of thousands of years. It has a semiarid climate and limited vegetation, such as shrubs and grasses.

Sierra Nevada

The towering Sierra Nevada mountains cross through southern Nevada, attracting recreational tourism due to their gorgeous landscapes. Although the range has an unusually mild climate for mountains, extreme winter temperatures (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit / -18 degrees Celsius) are still common in some valley regions. The Sequoia, the largest tree in the world, is typically found in this region as well.

Basin and Range Region

The rest of Nevada falls into the Basin and Range Region, featuring over 150 mountain ranges, as well as numerous buttes, geysers, and hot springs. The highest point in the state, Boundary Peak, at 13,140 feet (4,005 meters), is in this section, as well as the dry Mojave Desert, which extends into California.

Nevada’s Minerals

Nevada is home to many minerals, including gold, lithium, magnesite, copper, silver, and salt. The state mines around three-fourths of the country’s gold, with the majority of gold mines located in the north-central part of the state, although there are also a few lining the southwest. Also mined in the southwest is lithium, largely mined in Esmeralda County.

Counties Map

Nevada is divided into 17 counties. In alphabetical order, the counties are: Carson City, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Storey, Washoe, White Pine.

With an area of 286,382 sq. km, Nevada is the 7^th largest and the 19^th least populous state in the USA. Located in the western part of the state is the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City – the capital city of Nevada. The capital city acts as the regional and commercial retail hub for northwestern Nevada, which is known for its irrigated farms, mining (silver and other minerals), and livestock farming. Situated in the southeastern part of the state is Las Vegas – the largest and the most populous city in Nevada. Nicknamed as “The Entertainment Capital of the World”, Las Vegas is an internationally renowned resort city. It also serves as the state’s cultural and commercial hub being synonymous with gambling, nightlife, and shopping. It is the 28^th most populous city of the United States and also one of the world’s most visited cities.

Where is Nevada?

The State of Nevada is located in the western region of the United States. Nevada is bordered by California in the west; by Arizona in the southeast; by Utah in the east; by Oregon in the northwest and by Idaho in the northeast.  

Regional Maps: Map of North America