List of counties in Nevada

Wikimedia list article

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

County
FIPS code[2] County seat[3] Established[3] Origin[4] Meaning of name[1][4] Population
(2020)[3][5]
Area[3][6] Map
Carson City 510 (Independent city) 1969 Founded 1858, combined with Ormsby County in 1969. Carson River, named in turn for Christopher Houston (Kit) Carson (1809–1868), the frontier scout and soldier. 58,639 145 sq mi
(376 km2)
 
Churchill County 001 Fallon 1861 Original Sylvester Churchill (1783–1862), a general in the Mexican-American War. 25,516 4,950 sq mi
(12,820 km2)
 
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. 2,265,461 7,892 sq mi
(20,440 km2)
 
Douglas County 005 Minden 1861 Original Stephen Arnold Douglas (1813–1861), former United States Senator from Illinois. 49,488 710 sq mi
(1,839 km2)
 
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. 53,702 17,173 sq mi
(44,478 km2)
 
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. 729 3,582 sq mi
(9,277 km2)
 
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. 1,855 4,176 sq mi
(10,816 km2)
 
Humboldt County 013 Winnemucca 1861 Original Humboldt River, named in turn for Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), a German naturalist and explorer. 17,285 9,641 sq mi
(24,970 km2)
 
Lander County 015 Battle Mountain 1861 Original Frederick W. Lander (1821–1862), an American Civil War general and developer of the area. 5,519 5,494 sq mi
(14,229 km2)
 
Lincoln County 017 Pioche 1866 Nye County and territory ceded by Arizona. Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth President of the United States. 4,499 10,633 sq mi
(27,539 km2)
 
Lyon County 019 Yerington 1861 Original General Nathaniel Lyon (1818–1861), who was killed in action at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. 59,235 2,003 sq mi
(5,188 km2)
 
Mineral County 021 Hawthorne 1911 Esmeralda County Mineral deposits in the area. 4,554 3,751 sq mi
(9,715 km2)
 
Nye County 023 Tonopah 1864 Esmeralda County James W. Nye (1815–1876), a governor of the Nevada Territory and U.S. senator from Nevada. 51,591 18,182 sq mi
(47,091 km2)
 
Pershing County 027 Lovelock 1919 Humboldt County John Joseph (Black Jack) Pershing (1860–1948), the World War I general. 6,037 6,009 sq mi
(15,563 km2)
 
Storey County 029 Virginia City 1861 Original Edward Farris Storey (1829–1860), a captain killed at Pyramid Lake in the 1860 Paiute War. 4,104 264 sq mi
(684 km2)
 
Washoe County 031 Reno 1861 Original The Washo, a small Indian tribe that inhabits the area. 486,492 6,316 sq mi
(16,358 km2)
 
White Pine County 033 Ely 1869 Lander County Heavy growth of pine trees in the area, thought to be white pine. 9,080 8,887 sq mi
(23,017 km2)
 

Former counties change

  • 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

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Political History of Nevada". Nevada State Library and Archives. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  2. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-10-08. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 National Association of Counties. "NACo County Explorer". Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Counties of Nevada". Nevada-History.org. Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-08-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. "Gazetteer of Nevada Counties". Census Bureau Geography. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2023.