Carson City, Nevada | ||
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Independent city and State capital | ||
Consolidated Municipality of Carson City | ||
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Carson City Mint at night
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Nickname(s): Carson, CC, The Capitol | ||
Motto(s): Proud of its Past...Confident of its Future | ||
![]() Location in Nevada |
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Coordinates: 39°9′39″N 119°45′14″W / 39.16083°N 119.75389°WCoordinates: 39°9′39″N 119°45′14″W / 39.16083°N 119.75389°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Nevada | |
County | None (Independent city) | |
Founded | 1858 | |
Named for | Kit Carson | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Bob Crowell (D) | |
• State Senator | Ben Kieckhefer (R) | |
• State Assemblyman | P.K. O'Neill (R) | |
• U.S. Representative | Mark Amodei (R) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 157 sq mi (410 km2) | |
• Land | 145 sq mi (380 km2) | |
• Water | 13 sq mi (30 km2) 8.0% | |
Elevation | 4,802 ft (1,463 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 55,274 | |
• Estimate (2016) | 54,742 | |
• Density | 350/sq mi (140/km2) | |
Time zone | Pacific (UTC−8) | |
• Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC−7) | |
ZIP code | 89701-89706, 89711-89714, 89721 | |
Area code(s) | 775 | |
Website | carson.org | |
Reference no. | 44 | |
Carson City, officially the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City, is an independent city and the capital of the US state of Nevada, named after the mountain man Kit Carson. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,274. The majority of the town's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the eastern edge of the Carson Range, a branch of the Sierra Nevada, about 30 miles (50 km) south of Reno.
The town began as a stopover for California bound emigrants, but developed into a city with the , a silver strike in the mountains to the northeast. The city has served as Nevada's capital since statehood in 1864 and for much of its history was a hub for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, although the tracks were removed in the 1950s. Before 1969, Carson City was the county seat of Ormsby County. In 1969, the county was abolished, and its territory merged with Carson City to form the Consolidated Municipality of Carson City. With the consolidation, the city limits extend west across the Sierra Nevada to the California state line in the middle of Lake Tahoe. Like other independent cities in the United States, it is treated as a county-equivalent for census purposes.
The first European Americans to arrive in what is now known as Eagle Valley were John C. Frémont and his exploration party in January 1843. Fremont named the river flowing through the valley Carson River in honor of Kit Carson, the mountain man and scout he had hired for his expedition. Prior to the Fremont expedition, the Washoe people inhabited the valley and surrounding areas. Settlers named the area Washoe in reference to the tribe.