Nevada: an arid desert and a mirage of lights

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Nevada (Silver State) is a state in the United States that is located in the western part of the country. The most important and famous city in the state is Las Vegas, the center of gambling and entertainment. Another important city is Reno. While the state capital is the small town of Carson City. Nevada is bordered by California to the west and southwest, Oregon and Idaho to the north, Utah to the east, and Arizona to the southeast.

AN ARID AND DESOLATE TERRITORY

Almost all of the state of Nevada is made up of desert or semi-desert territory. Much of the state is located in the Great Basin, a vast and arid plateau. The dryness of the state’s territory is mainly caused by the presence, along the California border, of the Sierra Nevada mountains that block the influx of humid air from the Pacific Ocean. Along the border with California is also the highest mountain in the state, Boundary Peak (4,005 meters).

The Great Basin Desert characterizes the northern part of the country. This is a high altitude desert, located between 1,200 and 3,500 meters high. In the southern section of Nevada there is the Mojave Desert, located between 1,000 and 2,000 meters high.

The area of present-day Nevada was explored by the Spanish from the 16th century and was nominally in their possession until Mexican independence (1821). In 1848, Mexico, defeated in the war by the United States, had to cede the territory of Nevada to the United States, in addition to California.

The climate of Las Vegas.

Area: 286,367 sq. km. (7th largest state of the United States of America)
Population: 2,600,000 (data 2008) (Whites 75.2%, Blacks 6.8%; Asian 4.5%, Amerindian 1.3%. Hispanics (classified into different racial types) are 19.7%. Data 2000).
State Capital: Carson City.
Languages: The official language is English (spoken as a first language by 74,0% of the population). Spanish is spoken as a first language by 18,5% of the population. The Filipino (Tagalog) by 2.0%. Data 2005).
Religion: Christian 67% (Roman Catholic (27%), Evangelical (13%), Protestant (13%), Mormon (11%), Orthodox (2%)), Jewish (1%), Muslim (2%), Hindu (1%).
Time zone: (UTC-8; Summer UTC-7; West Wendover (northeastern area) UTC-7; Summer UTC-6).