Nevada

NEVADA, popularly known as the "Sagebrush" State, is one of the far western States of the American Union. It lies between and 42° N. and 114° 2' and 120° W., and is bounded north by Oregon and Idaho, east by Utah and Arizona, south and west by California. The Colorado river separating it in part from Arizona is the only natural boundary the State possesses, the others being arbitrary lines of geodetic measure ment. Nevada ranks sixth among the States in size, having an area of 110,690 sq.m., 869 sq.m. of which are water surface. Its extreme length north and south is 484 m., and its extreme width east and west is 321 miles. Its name, a Spanish word meaning "snow-clad," was originally applied to the snow-capped Sierra Nevada range on the Pacific slope.

Physical Features.

With the exception of its north-east and south-east corners, the State lies wholly within the Great Basin, the floor of which is really a vast tableland between 4,000 and 5,000 ft. above the sea. This plateau, however, is not a plain, but contains many buttes, mesas and isolated mountain ranges, the latter running generally in a north and south direction and rising i,000 to 7,000 f t. above the level of the plain. These ranges are from 5 to 20 m. wide at their bases, and the valleys between are about the same width as the bases. The total area of the valleys is about equal to that of mountainous land. In the north east an unnamed range of highlands, broken and ill-defined, with a general east and west trend, forms the water-parting be tween tributaries of the Humboldt river in the Great Basin region and those rivers that flow to the Snake river in Idaho and Oregon and thence via the Columbia river to the Pacific ocean. This drainage area of the Snake amounts to about 5,000 sq.m., the Owyhee, Little Owyhee, Salmon and Bruneau rivers being the principal streams. In the south-east corner is the third drainage system. Here the Virgin river from Utah, after crossing the north-west corner of Arizona, enters the State and flows south-west for 6o m. until it joins the Colorado river. The latter stream flows for 15o m. along the south-east boundary towards the Gulf of California. The Colorado leaves Nevada at an alti tude of but 470 ft. above sea-level, the lowest point in the State. The mean elevation of the State is 5,50o ft. and, with the excep tion of the dip to the Colorado in the south-east, the entire State lies above the 2,00o ft. line.

The Sierra Nevada range, which forms the western rim of the basin, sends into the State a single lofty spur, the Washoe moun tains. At the foot of this range there is, relatively speaking, a depression, with an altitude of about 3,85o ft. above the sea, which receives the drainage of the eastern slopes of the Sierra, and what little drainage there is in the northern half of Nevada. From this depression eastward the general level of the plateau rises to an elevation of 6,000 ft. near the eastern borders of the State. The mountain ranges also increase in height and impor

tance as far as the East Humboldt range, a lofty mass about 6o m. west of the Utah boundary. This range is the water-parting for nearly all the westward-flowing streams of the State, and is by far the steepest and most rugged within Nevada, a number of its peaks attaining a height of i i,000 or 12,000 feet. On its eastern slope the waters soon disappear within the bed of narrow canyons, but break out again at the foot in ice-cold springs that form the source of the Ruby and Franklin lakes; on its western side the descent is more gentle, and the waters form the south fork of the Humboldt river. The Humboldt is the most important of the basin streams. Rising in the north-east it flows in a tortuous channel in a general south-west direction for 30o m. and drains 7,000 or 8,000 sq. miles. It empties into Humboldt lake, the overflow from which goes into the so-called Carson sink. At no part of its course is it a large river and near its mouth its waters are subalkaline. The Truckee, Carson and Walker rivers flow with more vigour, receiving their waters from the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada range and discharging them into alkaline lakes. Of these lakes Pyramid is the largest, being about 33 m. long and 14 m. wide. Walker lake is as long but only six or seven miles in width. These larger lakes always contain water, varying only in area and depth, but the smaller lakes usually evaporate in the course of the summer. The latter are formed by waters that fall on barren mountain-sides and rush down in tor rents, forming in the valleys shallow bodies of water yellow with mud held in suspension. Excepting the "alkali flats" no por tion of the desert is devoid of vegetation, even in the driest seasons. In the Washoe mountains there is a heavy growth of conifers extending down into the valleys; but in many places these moun tains have been almost deforested to provide timber for the mines. In other places these areas have been incorporated into national forests, in the endeavour to protect and foster the growth of tim ber and vegetation so as to regulate the drainage of the State. On all but the lowest ranges of the basin the pifion and juniper are found, but these rarely grow to a height over 15 ft.; and on the principal ranges above 6,800 ft. is the stunted mountain mahog any. But except for these infrequent wooded areas, the mountains are even more bare than the valleys, because their shrubs are dwarfed from exposure. The valleys are covered with typical desert shrubs, greasewood, creosote bushes and sagebrush, and with bunch grass, which is valuable for grazing. The skies of Nevada are clear nearly every day in the year. The mean annual precipitation varies from 3 in. in the south-west (Esmeralda county) to 12 in. in the east (White Pine county), and varies also according to altitude. Snow rarely lies on the ground in the valleys.