Nye County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,591. Its county seat is Tonopah. At 18,159 square miles (47,030 km), Nye is Nevada's largest county by area and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, behind San Bernardino County of California and Coconino County of Arizona.
Nye County comprises the Pahrump micropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Las Vegas-Henderson combined statistical area.
The Nevada National Security Sites (N2S2 or NNSS), popularized as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a reservation of the United States Department of Energy located in the southeastern portion of Nye County, Nevada, about 65 mi (105 km) northwest of the city of Las Vegas.
Formerly known as the Nevada Proving Grounds of the United States Army, the site was acquired in 1951 to be the testing venue for the American nuclear devices. The first atmospheric test was conducted at the site's Frenchman Flat area by the United States Atomic Energy Commission (USAEC) on January 27, 1951. About 928 nuclear tests were conducted here through 1992, when the United States stopped its underground nuclear testing.
The Toiyabe Range is a mountain range in Lander and Nye counties, Nevada, United States. Most of the range is included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The highest point in the range, near its southern end, is Arc Dome (11,788 feet, 3592 m), an area protected as the Arc Dome Wilderness. The highest point in Lander County, Bunker Hill, is also located within the Toiyabe Range. The range starts in northwestern Nye County north of Tonopah, Nevada and runs approximately 120 miles (190 km) north-northeast into southern Lander County, making it the second longest range in the state.
Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth-largest county by area in the contiguous United States, ranking lower when the boroughs of Alaska are included. It is one of only 10 counties in the U.S. with more than 10,000 square miles (25,900 km) of area. Elko County is the second-largest county by area in Nevada, with only Nye County being larger. Elko County is part of the Elko micropolitan statistical area. It contains 49.8 percent of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, set up in the late 19th century for the Shoshone-Paiute peoples; they are a federally recognized tribe. Although slightly more than 50% of the reservation is across the border in Owyhee County, Idaho, the majority of tribal members live on the Nevada side. The reservation's land area is 450.391 square miles (1,166.5 km).
Arc Dome is the highest mountain of the Toiyabe Range in northwestern Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is the thirteenth-highest mountain in the state. Arc Dome also ranks as the second-most topographically prominent peak in Nye County and the eighth-most prominent peak in the state. The peak is located about 53 miles (85 km) north of the community of Tonopah, within the Arc Dome Wilderness of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Arc Dome is sometimes confused with Toiyabe Dome. The fact that the summit benchmark is marked “Toiyabe Dome” only adds to this confusion. However, these are separate peaks. Toiyabe Dome at 11,361 feet (3,463 m) is about 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Arc Dome, above the small community of Carvers, Nevada.
The Arc Dome Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Toiyabe Range of Nye County, in the central section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. It covers an area of approximately 115,000 acres (47,000 ha), Nevada's largest Wilderness area. Attractions include the 70-mile (110 km)-long Toiyabe Crest Trail offers travelers atop the ridge of the Toiyabe Range, including 30 miles (48 km) within the Arc Dome Wilderness.
Wildlife in the Wilderness includes Columbia spotted frog, mule deer, sharp-shinned hawk, golden eagle, Clark's nutcracker, sagebrush sparrow, sagebrush vole, black-throated gray warbler, yellow warbler, northern goshawk, big brown bat, and Great Basin skink.
Tonopah (/ˈtoʊnəˌpɑː/ TOHN-ə-pah, Shoshoni language: Tonampaa) is an unincorporated town in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Nye County. Nicknamed the Queen of the Silver Camps for its mining-rich history, it is now primarily a tourism-based resort city, notable for attractions like the Mizpah Hotel and the Clown Motel.
Tonopah is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95, approximately midway between Las Vegas and Reno. In the 2020 census, the population was 2,179. The census-designated place (CDP) of Tonopah has a total area of 16.2 square miles (42 km), all land.