Nevada

Nevada is one of the United States' states. Its capital is Carson City. Other big cities are Las Vegas and Reno.

History
Nevada was originally founded in 1821 as part of the First Mexican Empire. The Mexican Empire turned into the Mexican Republic in 1823, along with Nevada.

The Mexican-American Conflict
Fighting between the United States and Mexico started. They fought over what was to become the Southwestern United States and who could own this land. This was called the Mexican-American War. The war ended in an American victory in 1848. Nevada later became an American territory in 1861. It was called the "Nevada Territory". This was not all of Nevada as it is today. The eastern part of Nevada was part of "Utah Territory" and the southern part was part of "New Mexico". In 1859 in the Comstock Lode, gold and silver were first discovered. This started a huge growth in mining in the state which Nevada is known for.

Gaining statehood
On October 31, 1864, now celebrated as "Nevada Day", Nevada was made the 36th state in the United States. It was given the distinct shape resembling a rectangle with a triangle. It was named Nevada meaning "snowy land" in Spanish, because it was snowy in the North. Later, on May 5, 1866, Nevada got its current borders because the Pah-Ute County in Arizona was taken as part of Nevada. It is now Clark County, Nevada. It was also agreed upon that the western part of Utah would become Eastern Nevada.

Economy
Tourism is very important to the economy of Nevada. Many people visit Las Vegas, which has many casinos and resorts. There is not as much farming as there is in some other states, because Nevada is so dry. However, mining is big in Nevada. More gold is mined in Nevada than in any other state.

Related pages

 * Colleges and universities in Nevada
 * List of counties in Nevada

Other websites

 * State of Nevada official website