List of counties in Nevada
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There are sixteen counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Nevada. On November 25, 1861, the first Nevada Territorial Legislature formed nine counties.[1] When Nevada joined the United States on October 31, 1864 it had eleven counties.[1]
Alphabetical list[change | change source]
County |
FIPS code [2] |
county seat [3] |
Created [3] |
Origin [4] |
Meaning of name [1][4] |
Population [3][5] |
Area [3][5] |
Map |
Carson City | 510 | (Independent city) | 1969 | Founded 1858, consolidated with rump Ormsby county in 1969. | Carson River, named in turn for Christopher Houston (Kit) Carson (1809–1868), the frontier scout and soldier. | 52,457 | (373 km²) |
144 mi²![]() |
Churchill County | 001 | Fallon | 1861 | Original | Sylvester Churchill (1783–1862), a general in the Mexican-American War. | 23,982 | ( 12,766 km2) |
4,929 sq mi![]() |
Clark County | 003 | Las Vegas | 1908 | Lincoln County | William A. Clark (1839–1925), former United States Senator from Montana, and builder of a rail-road line through the area. | 1,375,765 | ( 20,489 km2) |
7,911 sq mi![]() |
Douglas County | 005 | Minden | 1861 | Original | Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813–1861), former United States Senator from Illinois. | 41,259 | ( 1,839 km2) |
710 sq mi![]() |
Elko County | 007 | Elko | 1869 | Lander County | A Shoshoni word meaning white woman. It is said, among the very old Shoshoni, that this is where they first saw a white woman. | 45,291 | ( 44,501 km2) |
17,182 sq mi![]() |
Esmeralda County | 009 | Goldfield | 1861 | Original | Esmeralda Mining District, named in turn for possibly the character Esmeralda of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Esmeralda is the Spanish and Portuguese word for emerald. | 971 | ( 9,295 km2) |
3,589 sq mi![]() |
Eureka County | 011 | Eureka | 1873 | Lander County | Greek expression Eureka, meaning I have found it!, in reference to deposits of silver found in the vicinity. | 1,651 | ( 10,816 km2) |
4,176 sq mi![]() |
Humboldt County | 013 | Winnemucca | 1861 | Original | Humboldt River, named in turn for Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), a German naturalist and explorer. | 16,106 | ( 24,988 km2) |
9,648 sq mi![]() |
Lander County | 015 | Battle Mountain | 1861 | Original | Frederick W. Lander (1821–1862), an American Civil War general and developer of the area. | 5,794 | ( 14,229 km2) |
5,494 sq mi![]() |
Lincoln County | 017 | Pioche | 1866 | Nye County and territory ceded by Arizona. | Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth President of the United States. | 4,165 | ( 27,545 km2) |
10,635 sq mi![]() |
Lyon County | 019 | Yerington | 1861 | Original | General Nathaniel Lyon (1818–1861), who was killed in action at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. | 34,501 | ( 5,164 km2) |
1,994 sq mi![]() |
Mineral County | 021 | Hawthorne | 1911 | Esmeralda County | Mineral deposits in the area. | 5,071 | ( 9,731 km2) |
3,757 sq mi![]() |
Nye County | 023 | Tonopah | 1864 | Esmeralda County | James W. Nye (1815–1876), a governor of the Nevada Territory and U.S. senator from Nevada. | 32,485 | ( 47,001 km2) |
18,147 sq mi![]() |
Pershing County | 027 | Lovelock | 1919 | Humboldt County | John Joseph (Black Jack) Pershing (1860–1948), the World War I general. | 6,693 | ( 15,563 km2) |
6,009 sq mi![]() |
Storey County | 029 | Virginia City | 1861 | Original | Edward Farris Storey (1829–1860), a captain killed at Pyramid Lake in the 1860 Paiute War. | 3,399 | ( 684 km2) |
264 sq mi![]() |
Washoe County | 031 | Reno | 1861 | Original | The Washo, a small Indian tribe that inhabits the area. | 339,486 | ( 16,426 km2) |
6,342 sq mi![]() |
White Pine County | 033 | Ely | 1869 | Lander County | Heavy growth of pine trees in the area, thought to be white pine. | 9,181 | ( 22,991 km2) |
8,877 sq mi![]() |
Former counties[change | change source]
- Bullfrog County, Nevada, formed in 1987 from part of Nye county. Creation declared unconstitutional and it was ended in 1989.[1]
- Lake County, Nevada, one of the original nine counties formed in 1861. Renamed Roop county in 1862. Part became Lassen County, California in 1864. The rest was added in 1883 to Washoe county.[1]
- Ormsby County, Nevada, one of the original nine counties formed in 1861. In 1969 added to Carson City, Nevada. It formed an independent city.[1]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Political History of Nevada". Nevada State Library and Archives. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "NACo - Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Counties of Nevada". Nevada-History.org. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Nevada QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-08-16. (2000 Census)