"The Silver State" Nevada by mcpangie

Nevada means "snow-covered". The western border is bounded by the Sierra Nevada (snow-covered serrated peaks), and most of the rest of Nevada’s 110,567 square miles are part of the Great Basin Desert, which is also etched with more than 150 mountain ranges running from north to south. The mountains pictured here are near Virginia City, home of the Comstock Lode, and the first of America’s western industrialized communities. In the late 1850's through 1880's investments from mining gold and high quality silver ore around Virginia City provided the means to make San Francisco the city that it has become. The City of Reno might not be as popular these days, but Las Vegas wasn’t even conceived when silver production out of Northern Nevada was so important that President Abraham Lincoln made sure that Nevada was admitted into the union on October 31, 1864, ensuring his re-election. One of Nevada’s nicknames is the “Battle Born State”, and the other “Silver State” not only refers to historical silver production, but Nevada continues to be home to a significant percentage of silver mining in the United States.

Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Despite being a desert state, Nevada is home to some of America’s most beautiful waters. Outside Reno you will find Tahoe’s Sink, the wonderful Pyramid Lake. High in the Sierra Nevada’s near Reno is Lake Tahoe, one of America’s Jewels, a beautiful glacial lake on the California and Nevada border. In the Northeastern Nevada you will find the Columbia Plateau, along with the Columbia River which continues on westward. In Southern Nevada, one of America’s wildest rivers the Colorado passes into Nevada near Boulder City where Lake Mead, the man-made lake behind Boulder Dam lies. Don’t forget Walker Lake, stopping point each spring for more loons than anywhere else in the nation.

Reno's Club Cal-Neva

There is one thing for sure, wether you visit Las Vegas or The Biggest Little City In The World, the cities of Nevada might be in desert country but they are surely colorful! The slot machine was invented in Northern Nevada during the mining boom of the late 1800's, and gambling continues to reign throughout Nevada as people from around the country and world come for gaming and the colorful nightlife.

• Pros:A day on Pyramid Lake is more exciting than a day in one of Reno's casinoes...
• Cons:Unless you hit a jackpot!
• In a nutshell:Nevada is more than just casinoes and gambling.