Nevada

G

Transportation

Two historic routes of travel across Nevada are still followed by modern interstate highways and railroads. One of these routes was the old California Trail from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, which extended down the Humboldt River and up the Truckee River into the Sierra Nevada. The second route, the Mormon Trail, extended from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, crossing southern Nevada through what is now Las Vegas.

In 2004 Nevada had 54,681 km (33,977 mi) of highways, including 901 km (560 mi) of the federal interstate highway system. U.S. Highway 50, which follows the route of the Pony Express of the 1860s, has been called “The Loneliest Road in America” because of its passage through some of the state’s most unpopulated landscapes.

Nevada’s large distances make air transportation attractive, and the state had 5 airports in 2007. McCarran International Airport, in Las Vegas, was the ninth busiest in the nation in 1996, serving 14 million passengers. The airport in Reno was also busy by national standards.

The state has 1,934 km (1,202 mi) of railroads. Nonmetallic minerals accounted for 42 percent of the tonnage of products originating in the state and shipped by rail.

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H

Trade

Reno is a trade center for northwestern Nevada and a part of northeastern California. Las Vegas is the major southern center. Smaller centers in the state are Ely and Elko. The commerce of all Nevada, however, is closely tied in with the major population and trade centers of California.

IV

The People of Nevada

According to the national census, Nevada had 1,998,257 residents in 2000, making it the 35th most populous state. In 2006 its population density was 9 persons per sq km (23 per sq mi).

A

Population Patterns

Nevada has for many years been the fastest growing state in the country. Starting with a population of only 160,083 in 1950, it increased by 78.2 percent during the 1950s, by 71.3 percent during the 1960s, by 63.8 percent during the 1970s, by 50.1 percent during the 1980s, and 66.3 percent during the 1990s.

Population distribution is very uneven. In 2000 some 92 percent of Nevadans were classified as inhabitants of urban areas. Most of the urban population was concentrated in the Las Vegas and Reno areas. In 1990, three-quarters of Nevada residents were born in another state or country, the highest proportion by far in the United States.

Whites comprised the largest share of the population, 75.2 percent, in 2000, while blacks were 6.8 percent of the people, Asians 4.5 percent, Native Americans 1.3 percent, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 0.4 percent, and those of mixed heritage or not reporting race 11.8 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 19.7 percent of the people. Many Native Americans live on reservations, which are scattered widely over the state. Some Native Americans own individually allotted grazing lands.

B

Principal Cities

Las Vegas and Reno were originally minor stops on the historic routes to California, but both grew rapidly in the last half of the 20th century. Gambling and resort activity, stimulated by the growing population of southern California, by rapid transportation, and by the development of air conditioning, have given both places a cosmopolitan appearance. Las Vegas has a downtown gambling area and a newer development of luxurious hotel-casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area, which includes a portion of Arizona, had a population of 1,710,551 in 2005. The city of Las Vegas had 545,147 in 2005. Other cities in the Las Vegas metropolitan area include Henderson (232,146), North Las Vegas (176,635), and Boulder City (15,177).

The Reno metropolitan area had 393,946 residents in 2005. Its principal cities were Reno (203,550 in 2005) and Sparks (82,051).

Carson City (56,062) is the state capital. Other cities include Elko, the hub of the northeastern cattle-ranching area, Winnemucca, a transportation crossroads, and Ely, the chief city of the copper-mining region. Many old mining towns have lost most of their population.

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