Selenite Range
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Selenite Range
The Selenite Range is a mountain range in western Pershing County, Nevada. The range is a north–south trending feature approximately long and wide. The Fox Range lies to the west across the San Emidio Desert valley and the south end of the Black Rock Desert playa. Gerlach and Empire are two communities on the foothills and just to the northwest of the range. These communities supported the gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ... mines in the range during their active period. The large Empire gypsum quarry lies just west of Luxor Peak at 40° 30' N; 119° 18' W just northwest of Kumiva Peak.Empire, NV 7.5 minute quadrangle, USGS, 1990Kumiva Peak, NV 7.5 minute quadrangle, USGS, 1990 The range was named for deposits of selenite, a variety of gypsum. Named Pea ...
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Black Rock Desert
__NOTOC__ The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region (in the Great Basin shrub steppe eco-region) of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt playa north of Reno, Nevada that encompasses more than of land and contains more than of historic trails. It is in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. The Great Basin, named for the geography in which water is unable to flow out and remains in the basin, is a rugged land serrated by hundreds of mountain ranges, dried by wind and sun, with spectacular skies and scenic landscapes. The average annual precipitation ''(years 1971-2000)'' at Gerlach, Nevada (extreme south-west of the desert) is . The region is notable for its paleogeologic features, as an area of 19th-century Emigrant Trails to California, as a venue for rocketry, and as an alternative to the ...
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Pershing County, Nevada
Pershing County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,650. Its county seat is Lovelock. The county was named after army general John J. Pershing (1860–1948). It was formed from Humboldt County in 1919, and the last county to be established in Nevada. The Black Rock Desert, location for the annual Burning Man event, is partially in the county. The county is listed as Nevada Historical Marker 17. The marker is at the courthouse in Lovelock. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. The tallest and most topographically prominent mountain in Pershing County is Star Peak at 9,840 ft (3,000 m). Major highways * Interstate 80 * Interstate 80 Business (Lovelock) * U.S. Route 95 * U.S. Route 95 Business (Lovelock) * State Route 396 * State Route 397 * State Route 398 * State Route 399 * State Route 400 * State Route 401 * State Ro ...
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USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization's work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The agency was founded on March 3, 1879. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior; it is that department's sole scientific agency. The USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, and Menlo Park, California. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world". The agency's previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its hundredth anniv ...
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Kumiva Peak
Kumiva Peak is an summit located in Pershing County, Nevada, United States. Description Kumiva Peak is the highest peak of the Selenite Range which is a subset of the Great Basin Ranges. This peak is set in the Mount Limbo Wilderness Study Area which is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It is situated north of Purgatory Peak, south of Luxor Peak, and south-southeast of the town of Empire. Topographic relief is significant as the west slope rises over above Poito Valley in , and the east aspect rises above Kumiva Valley in . This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, and has appeared in publications since at least 1877.Arnold Hague, Samuel Franklin Emmons (1877), ''Descriptive Geology'', U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 804 Climate Kumiva Peak is set within the Great Basin Desert which has hot summers and cold winters. The desert is an example of a cold desert climate as the desert's elevation makes temperatu ...
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Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 7th-most extensive, the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 32nd-most populous, and the List of U.S. states and territories by population density, 9th-least densely populated of the U.S. states. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise, NV MSA, Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area, including three of the state's four largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City, Nevada, Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state. Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" because of the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the "Battle ...
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Fox Range
The Fox Range is a mountain range in east central Washoe County, Nevada. Gerlach, Black Rock Desert and the Granite Range lie to the north and northeast. The Selenite Range is to the east beyond the San Emidio Desert and Poito Valley. The Lake Range lies to the southeast and Pyramid Lake is to the south. The Smoke Creek Desert is to the west. The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation is a United States reservation in northwestern Nevada, approximately northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon counties. It is governed by the federally recognized Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, wh ... occupies the southern third of the range.''Kumiva Peak, Nevada,'' 30x60 minute topographic quad., USGS, 1984''Gerlach, Nevada,'' 30x60 minute topographic quad., USGS, 1981 References Mountain ranges of Washoe County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Nevada {{WashoeCountyNV-geo-stub ...
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Gerlach, Nevada
Gerlach, Nevada is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 107 at the 2018 American Community Survey. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2010, Gerlach was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place. The town of Empire is now a separate CDP. The next nearest town, Nixon, is to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The Fly Geyser is located near Gerlach. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the Gerlach CDP has a total area of , all land. Its elevation is . Gerlach is approximately north of Reno, Nevada. Demographics Climate Gerlach has a steppe climate (Bsk). Economy The economy of Gerlach focuses on tourism in the nearby Black Rock Desert, and hunting. Gypsum mining was the historic staple of the local economy. Nearby Empire was a company town of the United States Gypsum Corporation (USG) until the plant closed on January 31, ...
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Empire, Nevada
Empire is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, with a population estimated at 65 (2021). Empire mine bought out by investor and reopened on a smaller scale. It is part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area; before the 2010 census, it was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place. The nearest town, Nixon, is to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. For 63 years, from 1948 to 2011, Empire was a company town of the US Gypsum Corporation, a manufacturer of gypsum based construction sheetrock, and once had a population of more than 750 people. US Gypsum closed the mine and the town in 2011; the mine and town were bought in 2016 by the Empire Mining Company (EMC), a manufacturer of gypsum based agricultural and construction additives. In 2016, the town again became a company town under the new auspices of EMC. Since that date both the town and the mine have been partially re ...
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Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. Alabaster, a fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, has been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the Nottingham alabasters of Medieval England. Gypsum also crystallizes as translucent crystals of selenite. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison. Etymology and history The word ''gypsum'' is derived from the Greek word (), "plaster". Because the quarries of the Montmartre district of Paris have long furnished burnt gypsum (calcined gypsum) used for various purposes, this dehydrated gypsum became known ...
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Luxor Peak
Luxor Peak is a summit located in Pershing County, Nevada, United States. Description Luxor Peak is the second-highest peak of the Selenite Range which is a subset of the Great Basin Ranges. This peak is set on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It is situated south of Selenite Peak, north of line parent Kumiva Peak, and south-southeast of the town of Empire. Topographic relief is significant as the west slope rises in one-half mile. The large Empire gypsum quarry lies below the west slope of Luxor Peak. The Selenite Range was named for deposits of selenite, a variety of gypsum. This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Climate Luxor Peak is set at the southern edge of the Black Rock Desert which has hot summers and cold winters. The desert is an example of a cold desert climate as the desert's elevation makes temperatures cooler than lower elevation deserts. Due to the high elevation and aridity, temperatures dro ...
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Selenite (mineral)
Selenite, satin spar, desert rose, gypsum flower are crystal habit varieties of the mineral gypsum. All varieties of gypsum, including selenite and alabaster, are composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate (meaning that it has two molecules of water), with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. Selenite contains no significant selenium – The similar names both derive from Greek ( 'Moon') Some of the largest crystals ever found are of selenite, the largest specimen found in the Naica Mine's Cave of the Crystals being 12 metres long and weighing 55 tons. History and etymology "Selenite" is mostly synonymous with gypsum, but from the 15th century, it has named the transparent variety that occurs in crystals or crystalline masses. The name derives through Middle English from Latin , ultimately from Greek (, ). It got this name because people historically believed the mineral waxed and waned with the cycles of the Moon.
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Selenite Peak
Selenite Peak is a summit located in Pershing County, Nevada, United States. Description Selenite Peak is the fifth-highest peak of the Selenite Range which is a subset of the Great Basin Ranges. This peak is set on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and is the highest point of the BLM's Selenite Mountains Wilderness Study Area. It is situated southeast of the town of Gerlach, and northeast of Empire. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises above the valley floor in three miles. This landform's toponym has been officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Climate Selenite Peak is set in the Black Rock Desert which has hot summers and cold winters. The desert is an example of a cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces ...
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