Nevada, constituent state of the United States of America. It borders Oregon and Idaho to the north, Utah to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and California to the west. It ranks seventh among the 50 U.S. states in terms of total area. It also, however, is one of the most sparsely settled. Carson City, in the western part of the state, is the capital. Nevada became the 36th state of the union on October 31, 1864.
Nevada, which in the early 21st century was one of the fastest-growing states in the country, appears far removed from the days when Virginia City was a fabled frontier town, thriving on the rich silver mines of the Comstock Lode. However, many frontier qualities persist, though subtly transformed by a sophisticated urban environment. The prospectors digging against odds to find a bonanza have been replaced by the fortune seekers in the gambling casinos of Las Vegas and Reno, and the erstwhile “saloon diversions” have evolved into lavish nightclub entertainments.
The majority of Nevadans live in urban areas, with about half of the population residing in the Las Vegas metropolitan area alone. The vast undeveloped lands of the state provide a largely unexplored resource, and its combination of burgeoning cities and desert reaches make Nevada a unique phenomenon among U.S. states. Area 110,572 square miles (286,380 square km). Population (2010) 2,700,551; (2019 est.) 3,080,156.
The majority of Nevadans are of European ancestry, more than four-fifths of whom were born in the United States. A small portion of Nevadans trace their ancestry to Basques recruited as sheepherders from their Pyrenean homeland. Hispanics, mainly of Mexican and Cuban origin, comprise about one-fourth of the state’s residents and are concentrated in the southeast. African Americans, who reside mostly in the Las Vegas and Reno areas, constitute less than one-tenth of the population. Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes live on several reservations and make up a small fraction of the state’s population.