Nevada

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General Information, Facts & Symbols

The United States of America accepted Nevada as the 36th state to enter the union on October 31, 1864.

Abbreviation:
NV

Capital of Nevada State:
Carson City

Primary Agriculture:
Nevada agriculture is directed primarily toward range livestock production. Cattle and calves are the leading agricultural industry. Cow-calf operations predominate with a few stocker operators and feedlots. Alfalfa hay is the leading cash crop of the state.

Primary Industry:
Nevada is most recognized for its world renowned casinos and resorts.

Nevada State Nickname:
The Silver State

Nevada State Motto:
All for our country.

Nevada State Flower:
Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
(Legislation of 1917)

Nevada State Tree:
Single-Leaf Pinon (Legislation of 1953)

Nevada State Bird:
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)
(Legislation of 1967)

The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) is a medium-sized thrush that breeds in open country across western North America, including mountain areas.

The adult Mountain Bluebirds have thin bills. Adult males of the species are bright blue and lighter underneath. The wings and tail of the females is duller blue and they have a grey breast, crown, throat and back.

Nevada State Fish:
Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (Legislation of 1981)

Nevada State Insect:
None (Legislation Pending)

Nevada State Gemstone:
Nevada Turquoise (Legislation of 1987)

Official State Seal:
Depicted to the right is the state seal of Nevada. The seal of the state of Nevada is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. It is the intent of the state government to ensure that appropriate uses are made of the state seal and to assist the secretary of state in the performance of the secretary’s constitutional duty as custodian of the seal.

Official State Flag:
Depicted to the left is the state flag of Nevada. The flag of the state of Nevada is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. The Nevada flag is flown over all state buildings just below the country flag of the United States of America.

State Commemorative Quarter:
From the 1999-2008 United States Mint 50 State Quarters® Program.
The first commemorative quarter-dollar coin released in 2006 honors Nevada, and is the 36th coin in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. Nevada, nicknamed “The Silver State,” was admitted into the Union on October 31, 1864, becoming our Nation’s 36th state. Nevada’s quarter depicts a trio of wild mustangs, the sun rising behind snow-capped mountains, bordered by sagebrush and a banner that reads “The Silver State.” The coin also bears the inscriptions “Nevada” and “1864″.

Nevada became a territory in 1861, several years after a Mormon Battalion in the Mexican War discovered gold and silver in the area of Virginia City. This discovery would later be referred to as one of the greatest mineral discoveries, famously known as the Comstock Lode.

Nevada is home to more than 50 percent of the Nation’s wild horses. The wild horses dominate the Great Basin in the vast deserts and the more than 150 mountain ranges. The first mention of wild horses was discovered in several journals dating to the 1820s.

Quarter Specifications
Release Date: January 31, 2006
Reverse (tails) Side: The Silver State
Engraver: Don Everhart
Standard Weight: 5.670g
Standard Diameter: 24.26mm (0.955 in)
Thickness: 1.75 mm
Edge Detail: Reeded
Composition: Cupro-Nickel Clad
(8.33% Nickel / 91.67% Copper)

Important Historical Figures of Nevada

Kit Carson
1809-68: U.S. frontiersman and scout. Born in Madison co., Kentucky. After Los Angeles was taken in 1846 by U.S. military forces, he was ordered to Washington with dispatches. In New Mexico he met Gen. Stephen Kearny’s troops, and Kearny commanded him to guide his forces to California.
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John C. Fremont
1813-90: American explorer, soldier, and political leader. Born in Savannah, Georgia. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (1838-39) between the upper Mississippi River and the Missouri. He eloped (1841) with Jessie, daughter of Senator Thomas H. Benton, who, after he became reconciled to the match, helped his son-in-law secure command of an expedition to explore the Des Moines River. The next year (1842) Fremont headed an expedition to the Rocky Mts. with Kit Carson as guide, and in 1843-44, with first Thomas Fitzpatrick and then Carson as guide, he went to Oregon. He explored the Nevada country, crossed the Sierra Nevada to California, and returned home by a more southerly route. His enthusiastic reports created wide interest in Western scenery and Western concerns.

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