Nevada

Snowy mountains

Nevada is a Spanish word meaning “snow-covered” or “snowy.” The state takes it from the Sierra Nevada, the snow-capped range along its western border with California, named by Spanish explorers. The name was already in use for the western part of Utah Territory before Congress created Nevada Territory on March 2, 1861. It nearly changed at statehood: the 1863 act calling a constitutional convention spoke of a “State of Washoe,” and some delegates pushed for Washoe again in 1864. The convention kept Nevada, after its president, J. Neely Johnson, argued that the terms for admission to the Union were based on the name State of Nevada.

Silver and statehood

The Comstock Lode, discovered in 1859, set off a silver mining boom in the region. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, by proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, in the middle of the Civil War. The state remembers that with the words “Battle Born” on its flag, and silver remains the official state metal and the source of its best-known nickname, the Silver State. The motto on the seal is “All for Our Country.”

Carson City

Carson City has been Nevada’s capital from the start. Abraham Curry, who bought the Eagle Ranch in 1858 and laid out the town, set aside a central plaza for a future capitol, and with the help of the lawyer William M. Stewart he won the territorial capital for Carson City in November 1861. The 1864 constitutional convention kept it as the seat of government, and the sandstone Capitol, with its silver-colored dome, was finished on Curry’s plaza in 1871. The capital page tells the story.

The flag that wasn’t approved

The state flag shows a silver star inside a wreath of sagebrush, under a scroll reading “Battle Born.” It has an odd history: because of a clerical error, the bill lawmakers approved in 1929 showed the wrong design, and for more than 60 years Nevada flew a version that the Legislature had never actually adopted, until it corrected the law in 1991.

Sagebrush and bristlecones

Nevada has 26 official state symbols. The sagebrush, which covers much of the state, is the state flower, and the mountain bluebird is the state bird. Nevada has two state trees: the single-leaf piñon, whose nuts were a staple food for the Native peoples of the Great Basin, and the Great Basin bristlecone pine, among the oldest living things on Earth. The desert bighorn sheep is the state animal, the Lahontan cutthroat trout the state fish and the ichthyosaur Shonisaurus, an extinct marine reptile, the state fossil. The newest symbol is a drink: the Picon Punch, honoring Nevada’s Basque heritage, became the state drink in 2025. See them all on the Nevada symbols page.

Land and people

Nevada covers 110,572 square miles, 7th among the states. It had about 3.28 million residents in 2025, 31st in the country and up nearly 6 percent from 2020. It borders California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Arizona. Las Vegas, with about 680,000 people, is the largest city, followed by Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks. Carson City, the capital, has about 59,000.