Nevada Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

Looking for Nevada trivia? Try our list Nevada little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Explorer John C. Fremont came upon Pyramid Lake on Jan. 10, 1844, naming it after a pyramid-shaped rock that rose out of the water. Also located in the lake is Anaho Island, a national wildlife refuge noted for its nesting colony of the rare white pelican. The island is closed to the public for wildlife protection.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

The desert oasis of Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada is an important spring and fall stop for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway stretching from Alaska to Mexico. The refuge name comes from a Paiute Indian word for “place of many waters.”

first appeared: 5/26/2002

The mountains of Great Basin National Park, near the Utah border, are home to bristlecone pines—trees with the longest life span of any conifers. The park’s Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet) contains bristlecones more than 3,000 years old.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

White Pine County in east-central Nevada was named after the White Pine Mining District of the 1860s, which in turn took its name from the large growth of white pine trees found in the area mountain ranges.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

You might think the Capitol dome in the Silver State would be covered with silver, but when the building was finished in 1871, its dome was covered with tin because oxidation would have turned a silver dome black—creating a constant and costly struggle to maintain a shiny surface. During work on the building in the 1970s, the tin covering was replaced with silver-colored fiberglass.

first appeared: 5/5/2002

The Arc Dome Wilderness in the central part of the state stretches over 115,000 acres and is the largest wilderness in the Toiyabe National Forest. Among the many trails leading through the mountainous terrain are the Peavine Canyon Trail, which passes by an old ranch, and Tom’s Canyon Trail, which leads to a spectacular view.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

Hikers in Grapevine Canyon in the southern tip of the state can see more than 700 petroglyphs carved into the canyon’s granite walls an estimated 1,200 years ago. While the meaning of the carvings is debated among archaeologists, the canyon is a favorite of hikers seeking a look back in time in a remote area.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

The Black Fire Opal, found in northern Nevada’s Virgin Valley, is the state’s official precious gemstone. The state also has an official semi-precious gemstone, the Nevada turquoise, which is found in many parts of the state and is sometimes called the “Jewel of the Desert.”

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in the northwestern corner of the state is home to the pronghorn, an animal often mistaken for an antelope. Pronghorn males, with foot-long horns that are shed after mating season, are about 3 feet tall and weigh 100 to 150 pounds. Females are a little smaller. The refuge is named for Charles Sheldon, who wrote about the pronghorn in the 1920s.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

Beatty (pop. 1,154) in southern Nevada was once an important stop on three railroad lines built during the gold-mining heyday of the early 1900s. Local rancher M. M. Beatty hammered in the last spike April 18, 1907, for the completion of the first north-south railroad system in the state.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

Douglas County was named in 1861 for Illinois Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, nationally known for his debates with Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election.

first appeared: 3/24/2002

Nine- to 12-inch claws, a skull, backbone, and reddish-brown hair of the extinct giant ground sloth were among the artifacts excavated from Gypsum Cave in Clark County in 1930-31. The mammal was common in the area when the environment was less arid 7,500 to 9,500 years ago.

first appeared: 3/17/2002

The first county seat of Lander County was Jacobsville, a settlement established on the banks of the Reese River in 1859 by George Washington Jacobs—the first sheriff of Lander County. The county seat was eventually moved to Austin (pop. 600), and now all that remains of Jacobsville are a few stone foundations.

first appeared: 3/10/2002

Radio station KKOH in Reno, once the oldest continuously operating radio station in Nevada, made its first broadcast (as KOH Radio) from the Elks Building in downtown Reno on Nov. 1, 1928. The station’s continuous run was interrupted, technically, when the station switched frequencies and obtained a new license in 1994.

first appeared: 3/3/2002

A giant cottonwood tree in Carson City was designated the Nevada Bicentennial Tree during the nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976. According to lore, explorer John C. Fremont saw the tree while traveling in the area, although it is now believed Fremont never passed through Carson City. Even if he did, the tree probably had not yet sprouted. Foresters say the tree is probably 125 to 150 years old.

first appeared: 2/24/2002

Fallon (pop. 7,536) got its start during the California Gold Rush, when settlers stopped along the Carson River after surviving a 40-mile trek through the desert. The area along the river came to be known as Ragtown, since travelers would take advantage of the river to do laundry, subsequently seen hanging from wagons and trees.

first appeared: 2/17/2002

Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa includes a replica of the trading post built there in 1851. Mormon Station is thought to be the first permanent nonnative settlement in what eventually became Nevada.

first appeared: 2/10/2002

In Carson City’s early days, leaders decided a fence should be built around the state Capitol building to prevent manure from soiling the grounds. Schoolteacher Hannah K. Clapp turned in the lowest bid and was awarded the project.

first appeared: 2/3/2002

When Nevada celebrated its centennial in 1964, comedian Jack Benny was on hand to help serve the 7-by-3-foot birthday cake.

first appeared: 2/3/2002

Gold was discovered in Rhyolite near Death Valley in 1904, and the area soon became a boomtown. Today, it’s a ghost town, where one of the few remaining structures is Tom Kelly’s bottle house—a now-vacant structure built of beer, liquor, and medicine bottles chinked with adobe in about 1905, when other building materials were scarce.

first appeared: 1/27/2002

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