Nevada, the "Silver State"
Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy.
It is also known as the "Battle Born State", because it achieved statehood during the Civil War (the words "Battle Born" also appear on the state flag); as the "Sage-brush State", for the native plant of the same name; and as the "Sage-hen State".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada
Nevada ("snow covered"), capital Carson City, is the 7th most extensive, the 35th most populous, and the 9th least densely populated of the 50 United States.
Nevada borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast and Utah to the east.
Nevada is the driest state in the United States. It is made up of mostly desert and semiarid climate regions, much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. With the exception of the Las Vegas Valley, the average summer diurnal temperature range approaches 40 °F (22 °C) in much of the state.
About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government, both civilian and military.
Before European contact, Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes inhabited the land that is now Nevada. The first Europeans to explore the region were Spanish. They called the region Nevada ("snowy)" due to the snow which covered the mountains in winter. The area formed part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and became part of Mexico when it gained independence in 1821.
The United States annexed the area in 1848 after its victory in the Mexican–American War, and it was incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that became an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, as the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War, after West Virginia.
