A look at the size, history and quirky facts of the Silver State

As Nevada prepares to celebrate its 160th birthday next week, there are many random facts you may not be aware of.

Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864. It was the second of two states added to the Union during the Civil War.

Nevada is one of the few states that grew significantly larger after joining the Union.

• Governor: Joe Lombardo
• Capital: Carson City
• Largest city: Las Vegas
• Nicknames: Silver State, Battle Born State and Sagebrush State
• State motto: Everything for our country
• State bird: mountain thrush
• State flower: Mugwort
• State tree: Bristlecone Pine
• State animal: desert bighorn sheep
• State Fish: Lahontan Cutthroat Trout
• State reptile: desert tortoise
• State area: 110,622 square miles
• Highest point: Boundary Peak

Here are some interesting facts about Nevada:

• The state was named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
• Nevada, also called the “Silver State,” is actually the largest gold producing state in the United States and the fourth largest in the world.
• America's largest silver deposit, the Comstock Lode, was discovered in Nevada in 1859.
• Nevada is the seventh largest state in the USA
• Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state in the United States
• Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other city in the world.
• 15 of the 25 largest hotels in the world are in Las Vegas.
• Nevada was the first state to ratify the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states and federal governments from denying a citizen the right to vote because of his or her “race, color, or previous servitude.”
• Area 51, a top-secret area of ​​the Nellis Air Force Range and Nuclear Test Site, is rumored to have developed the first stealth bomber and extraterrestrial UFO research facilities.