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Nevada
The Silver State, the driest in the nation
Nevada is the driest state in the country, most of it locked inside the Great Basin — a vast region where no rivers reach the sea and water that falls either sinks into the ground or evaporates from shallow desert lakes. The terrain is unmistakable: dozens of north-south mountain ranges rise like islands from flat desert valleys in the classic basin-and-range pattern, repeating across the state. It is also the most mountainous of the desert states, with more named ranges than any other.
Rain shadows from the Sierra Nevada to the west wring the moisture from incoming storms, leaving Nevada parched. Boundary Peak, the high point at 13,147 feet (4,007 m), stands near that western wall. The Colorado River clips the southern tip, where Hoover Dam's reservoir, Lake Mead, makes Las Vegas possible — a neon city improbably blooming in the Mojave Desert. Most Nevadans live in the Las Vegas and Reno areas, leaving the desert interior among the emptiest country in the lower 48.
Economy
Nevada's economy is dominated by tourism, gaming, and entertainment centered on Las Vegas and Reno, but it is also the leading gold-mining state and has grown a substantial logistics and warehousing sector and a manufacturing base, including a large Tesla battery plant near Reno. The state levies no personal income tax.
Politics
Nevada carries 6 electoral votes and is a closely contested swing state. A large and growing Latino population and a powerful casino-workers union shape its politics, with the Democratic-leaning Las Vegas area in Clark County holding most of the state's population.