Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources

Eight days before Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president in 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in the union. Today, Nevada is the seventh most extensive, 35th most populous, and ninth least densely populated of the 50 states. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's citizens live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas metropolitan area. 

Nevada is largely desert and semiarid, much of it located in within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada lie on the western edge. About 86% of the state's land is managed by various jurisdictions of the U.S. federal government.

Preserving, protecting, and enhancing these wonders is the responsibility of more than 900 employees working for the DCNR. Through their dedication, Nevada continues to be one of the wealthiest states in the nation in terms of historic and natural resources.