| Nevada's Historical Markers |
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Click anywhere on the Nevada county map below and obtain a listing of the state's historical markers located within that particular county. Or you may select from the Nevada county listing to the right of the image. All historical markers are accessible in numerical order [with counties listed in brackets] under "State of Nevada."
Introduction to the Nevada Historical Marker Program
Today, reminders of our past, such as buildings and archeological sites, are found throughout Nevada. They represent the contributions made by early Nevadans to the State's culture. By studying the past, understanding its spirit, and preserving its message, we have an opportunity to understand our present-day culture and institutions. The Historic Marker Program was initiated by the Nevada State Legislature in 1967 to bring the State's heritage to the public's attention with on-site markers. There are now 266 historical markers in Nevada commemorating sites and buildings such as Las Vegas Mormon fort, Stokes Castle in Austin, the Pony Express Station in Elko, and the first airplane flight in Nevada at Carson City. The Historic Marker Program is a cooperative effort involving the Department of Cultural Affairs, State Historic Preservation Office, which administers the Program, the State Historical Society which reviews proposed marker texts, and the Nevada Department of Transportation which assists in installing and funding the markers. This Internet electronic map and information access system provides access to Nevada's significant historic sites recognized through the Nevada Historical Marker Program. The historical marker information is accessible by either using the map, above, or by accessing the historical markers through the listing to the right of the map of Nevada's county names. Each marker is presented by marker name, marker number, specific location, and the complete text that may be found on the actual historical marker. The "STATE of NEVADA" file accesses all marker information in numerical order with the county of location listed. The individual county files have marker information only for that specific county.
Nevada's Historical Markers are listed by location in terms of their respective Hydrographic Region, county, and more precise location, e.g., highway, town, etc., as appropriate. For hydrologic analysis and water planning and management purposes, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Nevada Division of Water Resources, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, have divided the State of Nevada into fourteen (14) distinct and discrete hydrologic units called Hydrographic Regions or Basins. A hydrographic region (or waterbasin or watershed) is broadly defined as a geographic area drained by a single major stream or an area consisting of a drainage system comprised of streams and often natural or man-made lakes. These principal hydrographic regions have been further disaggregated into 232 distinct Hydrographic Areas and and 256 Hydrographc Areas and Sub-Areas. This smaller hydrolgoic units typically comprise a valley, a portion of a valley, or terminal basin. Information on these hydrographic areas and sub-areas may be accessed from the listing of hydrographic regions above. For more information on Nevada's hydrographic regions, areas and sub-areas, and their relationship to county borders, visit our hydrographic region presentation at Nevada's Hydrographic Regions. The 14 Nevada hydrographic regions (basins) are:
[2] Black Rock Desert Region — Covers 8,632 square miles (22,357 square kilometers or 5,524,480 acres) of parts of Washoe, Humboldt, and Pershing counties and includes 17 hydrographic areas, two of which are divided into separate hydrographic sub-areas; extends into the State of California to the west and the State of Oregon to the north; [3] Snake River Basin — Covers 5,230 square miles (13,546 square kilometers or 3,347,200 acres) in parts of Elko and Humboldt counties and includes eight hydrographic areas; extends into the states of Oregon and Idaho to the north and the State of Utah to the east; [4] Humboldt River Basin — Covers 16,843 square miles (43,623 square kilometers or 10,779,520 acres) in parts of eight counties — Elko, White Pine, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Nye, Pershing, and Churchill — and the largest river (Humboldt River) wholly contained within Nevada. This basin contains 34 hydrographic areas and one hydrographic sub-area and is one of only two that are wholly contained within the State of Nevada. It originates in the Ruby, Jarbidge, Independence, and East Humboldt Mountain ranges (Elko County) and terminates in the Humboldt Lake and Sink (Pershing and Churchill counties). During particularly wet years, the Humboldt Sink may drain into the Carson Sink by means of the Humboldt Slough; [5] West Central Region — Covers 1,656 square miles (4,289 square kilometers or 1,059,840 acres) and includes parts of Pershing, Lyon, and Churchill counties and comprises five hydrographic areas. This basin is one of only two waterbasins that are wholly contained within the State of Nevada; [6] Truckee River Basin — Encompasses 2,300 square miles (5,957 square kilometers or 1,472,000 acres) containing parts of Washoe, Pershing, Churchill, Lyon, Douglas, Carson City, and Storey counties comprising 12 hydrographic areas; originates in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the State of California and the Lake Tahoe Basin and terminates in Pyramid Lake (Washoe County); [7] Western Region — Covers 602 square miles (1,559 square kilometers or 385,280 acres) and is contained only in Washoe County in Nevada; contains nine hydrographic areas, one of which is divided into two sub-areas and another into one hydrographic sub-area; extends to the west into the State of California; [8] Carson River Basin — Covers 3,519 square miles (9,114 square kilometers or 2,252,160 acres) and includes parts of six counties—Douglas, Carson City, Lyon, Storey, Churchill, and Pershing; contains five hydrographic areas and one sub-area; has its origin to the west in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the State of California and its terminus in the Carson Sink and Desert (Churchill and Pershing counties); [9] Walker River Basin — Covers 3,046 square miles (7,889 square kilometers or 1,949,440 acres) of Mineral, Lyon, and Douglas counties (and a very small portion of Churchill County) and includes five hydrographic areas, one of which has been divided into three hydrographic sub-areas; has its origin to the west in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the State of California and its terminus in Walker Lake (Mineral County); [10] Central Region — By far the largest hydrographic region in Nevada covering 46,783 square miles (121,167 square kilometers or 29,941,120 acres) in thirteen Nevada counties—Nye, Elko, White Pine, Lincoln, Clark, Humboldt, Pershing, Churchill, Lander, Eureka, Lyon, Mineral, and Esmeralda. This region includes 78 hydrographic areas, ten of which are divided into two sub-areas and one into three sub-areas; extends to the south and west into the State of California; [11] Great Salt Lake Basin — Covers 3,807 square miles (9,860 square kilometers or 2,436,480 acres) of the easternmost portions of Elko, White Pine, and Lincoln counties; includes eight hydrographic areas, one of which is divided into four hydrographic sub-areas; extends to the east into the State of Utah; [12] Escalante Desert Basin — Covers a large area in Utah but only a very small part of it is in Lincoln County, Nevada — 106 square miles (275 square kilometers or 67,480 acres). It is made up of only one hydrographic area; extends to the east into the State of Utah; [13] Colorado River Basin — Covers 12,376 square miles (32,054 square kilometers or 7,920,640 acres) including parts of Clark, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine counties and is divided into 27 hydrographic areas; extends to the south into California, borders the Colorado River to the south and east, and extends into the states of Arizona and Utah to the east; [14] Death Valley Basin — Covers 2,593 square miles (6,716 square kilometers or 1,659,520 acres) of Nye and Esmeralda counties including eight hydrographic areas, one of which has been divided into two hydrographic sub-areas; also extends into the State of California to the south and west.
For further information on Nevada's Historical Markers, contact Mara Thiessen Jones Internet Site: State Historic Preservation Office Historic Marker Program State Historic Preservation Office 100 North Stewart Street Carson City, NV 89701-4285 Telephone: (775) 684-3439 FAX: (775) 684-3442
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Nevada's archeological and historical traditions are rich and varied. Early man left petroglyphs, campsites, and rock shelters dating back at least 10,000 years. Nineteenth-century explorers and pioneers opened Nevada's portion of the Great Basin and Mojave Desert as part of the country's westward expansion. During this period, ranchers, miners, Native Americans, railroad workers, homesteaders, and Mormon settlers pioneered the Silver State's settlement.