Reno ( ) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the northwest section of the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
state of
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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 7th-most extensive, ...
, along the Nevada-California border, about north from
Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
and
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
industry, Reno is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
and largest city of
Washoe County and sits in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
valley, on the eastern side of the
Sierra Nevada. The Reno metro area (along with the neighboring city
Sparks) occupies a valley colloquially known as the
Truckee Meadows
The Truckee Meadows is a valley in Northern Nevada, named for the Truckee River, which collects and drains all water in the valley. Truckee Meadows is also colloquially used as a name for the Reno–Tahoe-Fernley CSA area, even though the metro a ...
which because of large-scale investments from
Greater Seattle
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierce ...
and
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
companies such as
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
,
Tesla,
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
,
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
, and
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
has become a new
major technology center in the United States.
The city is named after Civil War Union Major General
Jesse L. Reno, who was killed in action during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
at the
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain—known in several early Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap—was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for posses ...
, on Fox's Gap.
Reno is part of the
Reno–Sparks metropolitan area
The Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Western Nevada, anchored by the cities of Reno and Sparks, part of Greater Reno-Tahoe- Fernley CSA. As of the ...
, the second-most populous metropolitan area in Nevada after the
Las Vegas Valley
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...
.
Known as Greater Reno, it includes Washoe,
Storey,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
Counties, the independent city and state capital,
Carson City
Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...
, as well as parts of
Placer and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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 7th-most extensive, ...
Counties in California.
The city proper had a population of 264,165 at the
2020 census.
History
Archaeological finds place the eastern border for the prehistoric
Martis people
Martis is the name given by scientists to the group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California on both the eastern and western sides of the Sierra Nevada. The Martis complex lasted from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, during the Middle Archaic era ...
in the Reno area. As early as the mid-1850s, a few pioneers settled in the
Truckee Meadows
The Truckee Meadows is a valley in Northern Nevada, named for the Truckee River, which collects and drains all water in the valley. Truckee Meadows is also colloquially used as a name for the Reno–Tahoe-Fernley CSA area, even though the metro a ...
, a relatively fertile valley through which the
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
made its way from
Lake Tahoe to
Pyramid Lake. In addition to
subsistence farming
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
, these early residents could pick up business from travelers along the
California Trail, which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off towards
Donner Lake
Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, be ...
, where the formidable obstacle of the Sierra Nevada began.
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
was discovered in the vicinity of
Virginia City
Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Virginia City developed as a boom ...
in 1850, and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
in 1859 at the
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...
led to a
mining rush, and thousands of emigrants left their homes, bound for the West, hoping to find a fortune.
To provide the necessary connection between Virginia City and the California Trail,
Charles W. Fuller
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
built a log toll bridge across the Truckee River in 1859. A small community that served travelers soon grew near the bridge. After two years, Fuller sold the bridge to
Myron C. Lake
Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculpture, sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica, Greece, Attica. According to Pliny the ...
, who continued to develop the community by adding a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house. He renamed it "Lake's Crossing". Most of what is present-day western Nevada was formed as the
Nevada Territory
The Territory of Nevada (N.T.) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until October 31, 1864, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Nevada.
Prior to the creation of the Nevada ...
from part of
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...
in 1861.
By January 1863, the
Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) had begun laying tracks east from
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, eventually connecting with the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
at
Promontory, Utah
Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above se ...
, to form the
First transcontinental railroad. Lake deeded land to the CPRR in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lake's Crossing. In 1864, Washoe County was consolidated with
Roop County, and Lake's Crossing became the county's largest town. Lake had earned himself the title "founder of Reno". Once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 9, 1868. CPRR construction superintendent
Charles Crocker named the community after Major General
Jesse Lee Reno
Jesse Lee Reno (April 20, 1823 – September 14, 1862) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Virg ...
, a Union officer killed in the Civil War at the
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain—known in several early Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap—was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for posses ...
.
In 1871, Reno became the county seat of the newly expanded Washoe County, replacing the county seat in
Washoe City. However, political power in Nevada remained with the mining communities, first Virginia City and later
Tonopah and
Goldfield.
The extension of the
Virginia and Truckee Railroad
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...
to Reno in 1872 provided a boost to the new city's economy. In the following decades, Reno continued to grow and prosper as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
.
As the mining boom waned early in the 20th century, Nevada's centers of political and business activity shifted to the nonmining communities, especially Reno and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Nevada is still the third-largest gold producer in the world, after
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
and
Australia; the state yielded 6.9% of the world's supply in 2005 world gold production.
The
Reno Arch
The Reno Arch is an iconic landmark in Reno, Nevada spanning Virginia Street at the intersection with Commercial Row. The current sign is the third version of the arch. It is owned and operated by the City of Reno. The original arch was built o ...
was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927. The arch included the words "Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition" and the dates of the exposition. After the exposition, the Reno City Council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, and Mayor E.E. Roberts asked the citizens of Reno to suggest a slogan for the arch. No acceptable slogan was received until a $100 prize was offered, and G.A. Burns of Sacramento was declared the winner on March 14, 1929, with "Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World".
Reno took a leap forward when the state of Nevada legalized open
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
on March 19, 1931, along with the passage of even more liberal
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
laws than places such as
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
, offered. The statewide push for legal Nevada gaming was led by Reno entrepreneur Bill Graham, who owned the Bank Club Casino in Reno, which was on Center Street. No other state offered legalized casino gaming like Nevada had in the 1930s, and
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s such as the Bank Club and Palace were popular. A few states had legal
parimutuel
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...
horse racing, but no other state had legal casino gambling. The new divorce laws, passed in 1927, allowed people to divorce each other after six weeks of residency, instead of six months. People wishing to divorce stayed in hotels, houses, and/or
dude ranches
A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.
History
Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...
.
Many local businesses in Reno started catering to these visitors, such as
R. Herz & Bro, a jewelry store that offered ring resetting services to the recently divorced to
El Cortez Hotel, which was built specifically to cater to the high number of wedded couples seeking divorces in Nevada. Most people left Nevada when their divorces were finalized.
Within a few years, the Bank Club, owned by
George Wingfield
George Wingfield (August 16, 1876 – December 25, 1959) was a Nevada cattleman and gambler who became a financier, investor and one of the state's most powerful economic and political figures during the period from 1909 to 1932. With future sen ...
, Bill Graham, and Jim McKay, was the state's largest employer and the largest casino in the world. Wingfield owned most of the buildings in town that housed gaming and took a percentage of the profits, along with his rent.
Ernie Pyle
Ernest Taylor Pyle (August 3, 1900 – April 18, 1945) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the ...
once wrote in one of his columns, "All the people you saw on the streets in Reno were obviously there to get divorces." In
Ayn Rand's novel ''
The Fountainhead
''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to comp ...
'', published in 1943, the New York-based female protagonist tells a friend, "I am going to Reno," which is taken as a different way of saying "I am going to divorce my husband." Among others, Belgian-French writer
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret.
Early life and education ...
, at the time living in the U.S., came to Reno in 1950 to divorce his first wife.
The divorce business eventually died after about 1970, as the other states fell in line by passing their own laws easing the requirements for divorce,
[ but gambling continued as a major Reno industry. While gaming pioneers such as "Pappy" and Harold Smith of Harold's Club and Bill Harrah of the soon-to-dominate Harrah's Casino set up shop in the 1930s, the war years of the 1940s cemented Reno as the place to play for two decades. Beginning in the 1950s, the need for economic diversification beyond gaming fueled a movement for more lenient business taxation.][
At 1:03 pm, on February 5, 1957, two explosions, caused by ]natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
leaking into the maze of pipes and ditches under the city, and an ensuing fire, destroyed five buildings in the vicinity of Sierra and First Streets along the Truckee River. The disaster killed two people and injured 49. The first explosion hit under the block of shops on the west side of Sierra Street (now the site of the Century Riverside), the second, across Sierra Street, now the site of the Palladio.
The presence of a main east–west rail line, the emerging interstate highway system, favorable state tax climate, and relatively inexpensive land created good conditions for warehousing and distribution of goods.
In the 1980s, Indian gaming rules were relaxed, and starting in 2000, Californian Native casinos began to cut into Reno casino revenues. Major new construction projects have been completed in the Reno and Sparks areas. A few new luxury communities were built in Truckee, California
Truckee is an incorporated town in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highe ...
, about west of Reno on Interstate 80. Reno also is an outdoor recreation destination, due to its proximity to the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe, and numerous ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...
s in the region.
In 2018, the city officially changed its flag after a local contest was held. In recent years, the Reno metro area − spurred by large-scale investments from Greater Seattle
The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierce ...
and San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
companies such as Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
, Tesla, Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
, Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
, and Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
− has become a new major technology center in the United States.
Geography
Environmental considerations
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
s are an important part of the Reno/Tahoe area. They act as a natural filter for the solids that come out of the water treatment plant. Plant roots absorb nutrients from the water and naturally filter it. Wetlands are home to over 75% of the species in the Great Basin. However, the area's wetlands are at risk of being destroyed due to development around the city. While developers build on top of the wetlands they fill them with soil, destroying the habitat they create for the plants and animals. Washoe County has devised a plan that will help protect these ecosystems: mitigation. In the future, when developers try to build over a wetland, they will be responsible for creating another wetland near Washoe Lake.
The Truckee River is Reno's primary source of drinking water. It supplies Reno with of water a day during the summer, and of water per day in the winter. Before the water goes to the homes around the Reno area, it must go to one of two water treatment
Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inc ...
plants, Chalk Bluff or Glendale Water Treatment Plant. To help save water, golf courses in Reno have been using treated effluent water rather than treated water from one of Reno's water plants.
The Reno-Sparks wastewater treatment plant discharges tertiary-treated effluent to the Truckee River. In the 1990s, this capacity was increased from 20 to 30 million U.S. gallons (70 to 110 million liters) per day. While treated, the effluent contains suspended solids, nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
, and phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
, aggravating water-quality concerns of the river and its receiving waters of Pyramid Lake. Local agencies working with the Environmental Protection Agency have developed several watershed management strategies to accommodate this expanded discharge. To accomplish this successful outcome, the DSSAM model
The DSSAM Model (Dynamic Stream Simulation and Assessment Model) is a computer simulation developed for the Truckee River to analyze water quality impacts from land use and wastewater management decisions in the Truckee River Basin. This area inc ...
was developed and calibrated for the Truckee River to analyze the most cost-effective available management strategy set. The resulting management strategies included measures such as land use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed woods. Land use by humans has a long ...
controls in the Lake Tahoe basin, urban runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
controls in Reno and Sparks, and best management practices for wastewater discharge.
The Reno area is often subject to wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s that cause property damage and sometimes loss of life. In August 1960, the Donner Ridge fire resulted in a loss of electricity to the city for four days. In November 2011, arcing from powerlines caused a fire in Caughlin in southwest Reno that destroyed 26 homes and killed one man. Just two months later, a fire in Washoe Drive sparked by fireplace ashes destroyed 29 homes and killed one woman. Around 10,000 residents were evacuated, and a state of emergency was declared. The fires came at the end of Reno's longest recorded dry spell.
Geology
Reno is just east of the Sierra Nevada, on the western edge of the Great Basin at an elevation of about above sea level. Numerous faults exist throughout the region. Most of these are normal Normal(s) or The Normal(s) may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Normal'' (2003 film), starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson
* ''Normal'' (2007 film), starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Kevin Zegers, Callum Keith Rennie, and Andrew Airlie
* ''Norma ...
(vertical motion) faults associated with the uplift of the various mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada.
In February 2008, an earthquake swarm
In seismology, an earthquake swarm is a sequence of seismic events occurring in a local area within a relatively short period. The time span used to define a swarm varies, but may be days, months, or years. Such an energy release is different f ...
began to occur, lasting for several months, with the largest quake registering at 4.9 on the Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
, although some geologic estimates put it at 5.0. The earthquakes were centered on the Somersett community in western Reno near Mogul and Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
. Many homes in these areas were damaged.
Climate
Reno sits in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Annual rainfall averages . Reno features a cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''BSk'') due to its low evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...
stemming from its moderate annual average temperature and the concentration of precipitation in the cooler, less-sunny months. The city experiences cool to cold winters, and hot summers. Annual precipitation has ranged from in 1947 to in 2017. The most precipitation in one month was in January 1916 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was on January 28, 1903. At Reno–Tahoe International Airport
Reno–Tahoe International Airport is a public and military airport southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. T ...
, where records go back to 1937, the most precipitation in one month was in January 2017 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was on January 21, 1943. Winter snowfall is usually light to moderate, but can be heavy some days, averaging annually. Snowfall varies with the lowest amounts (roughly 19–23 inches annually) at the lowest part of the valley at and east of the airport at , while the foothills of the Carson Range
The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada.
Geography
The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long a ...
to the west ranging from in elevation just a few miles west of downtown can receive two to three times as much annual snowfall. The mountains of the Virginia Range
The Virginia Range is a mountain range of western Nevada, primarily within Storey County, and extending east into Lyon County. The range is named after James Finney, "Old Virginny", an early discoverer of gold associated with the Comstock Lode ...
to the east can receive more summer thunderstorms and precipitation, and around twice as much annual snowfall above . However, snowfall increases in the Virginia Range are less dramatic as elevation climbs than in the Carson Range to the west, because the Virginia Range is well within the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada and Carson Range. The most snowfall in Reno in one winter was in 1915-1916, with an astonishing in January, the most in a calendar month, as well as on January 17, the most in a calendar day; the most snowfall in a calendar year was in 1916. At Reno–Tahoe International Airport, the most snowfall in one winter was in 1951-1952, the most in a calendar year was in 1971, the most in a month was in March 1952, and the most in a day was on February 16, 1990.[
Most ]rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
occurs in winter and spring. The city has 300 days of sunshine per year. Summer thunderstorms can occur between April and October. The eastern side of town and the mountains east of Reno tend to be prone to thunderstorms more often, and these storms may be severe because an afternoon downslope west wind, called a "Washoe Zephyr The Washoe Zephyr is a seasonal diurnal wind which occurs across western Nevada just east of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It blows primarily in the summer from mid afternoon until late in the evening from the west to southwest, becoming quite gust ...
", can develop in the Sierra Nevada, causing air to be pulled down in the Sierra Nevada and Reno, destroying or preventing thunderstorms, but the same wind can push air upward against the Virginia Range and other mountain ranges east of Reno, creating powerful thunderstorms.
The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in December to in July, with the diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak da ...
occasionally reaching in summer, still lower than much of the high desert to the east. There are 6.0 days of + highs, 65 days of + highs, 1.6 days with + lows, and 1.9 days with sub- lows annually; the temperature reaches or dips below the freezing point on 122 days, and does not rise above freezing on only 4.1 of those days.[ The all-time record high temperature is , which occurred on July 10 and 11, 2002, and again on July 5, 2007. The all-time record low temperature is , which occurred on January 21, 1916; the lowest temperature recorded at the airport is , which occurred on four occasions, most recently on February 7, 1989.][ In addition, the region is windy throughout the year; observers such as Mark Twain have commented about the "Washoe Zephyr", northwestern Nevada's distinctive wind.
]
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 225,221 people, 90,924 households, and 51,112 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,186.6 per square mile (844.2/km). There were 102,582 housing units at an average density of 995.9 per square mile (384.5/km). The city's racial makeup was 74.2% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 2.9% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.3% Native American, 6.3% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.7% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 10.5% some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 24.3% of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...
were 62.5% of the population in 2010, down from 88.5% in 1980.
At the 2010 census, there were 90,924 households, of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were headed by married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city, the 2010 population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.7 males.
In 2011 the city's estimated median household income was $44,846, and the median family income was $53,896. Males had a median income of $42,120 versus $31,362 for females. The city's per capita income was $25,041. About 9.6% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over. The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2010, its population had risen to 225,221, making it the third-largest city in the state after Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and Henderson Henderson may refer to:
People
*Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname
*Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan
Places Argentina
*Henderson, Buenos Aires
Australia
*Henderson, Western Australia
Canada
* H ...
, and the largest outside Clark County. Reno lies north of the Nevada state capital, Carson City
Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...
, and northeast of Lake Tahoe in a shrub-steppe environment. Reno shares its eastern border with the city of Sparks and is the larger of the principal cities of the Reno–Sparks, Nevada Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a metropolitan area that covers Storey and Washoe counties. The MSA had a combined population of 425,417 at the 2010 census. The MSA is combined with the Fernley Micropolitan Statistical Area and the Carson City
Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...
MSA to form the Reno-Carson City-Fernley Combined Statistical Area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
, which had a population of 477,397 at the 2010 census.
Economy
Until the 1960s, Reno was the gambling capital of the United States, but Las Vegas' rapid growth, American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
' 2000 buyout of Reno Air
Reno Air was a scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Reno, Nevada, United States. Reno Air provided service from its hubs at Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, San Jose International Airport in San Jose, California and La ...
, and the growth of Native American gaming
Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal lands in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling ...
in California have reduced its gambling economy. Older casinos were torn down (Mapes Hotel
Mapes Hotel was a hotel and casino located in Downtown Reno, Nevada, next to the Truckee River on Virginia Street. It was built in 1947 and opened on December 17 of that year. It was the first skyscraper built in the Western United States since t ...
, Fitzgerald's Nevada Club, Primadonna, Horseshoe Club, Harold's Club
Harold's Club, also spelled Harolds Club, was a casino in Downtown Reno, Nevada that was established in 1935. The casino closed in 1995 and the building was demolished in 1999. Harold's Club was the set for the 1955 movie ''5 Against the House''. ...
, Palace Club), or smaller casinos like the Comstock, Sundowner, Golden Phoenix, Kings Inn, Money Tree, Virginian, and Riverboat were either closed or were converted into residential units.
Because of its location, Reno has traditionally drawn the majority of its California tourists and gamblers from the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
and Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
while Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
has historically served more tourists from Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
and the Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
area.
Several local large hotel casinos have shown significant growth and have moved gaming further away from the downtown core. These larger hotel casinos are the Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
, the Peppermill and the Grand Sierra Resort. The Peppermill was chosen as the most outstanding Reno gaming/hotel property by ''Casino Player'' and ''Nevada'' magazines. In 2005, the Peppermill Reno began a $300 million Tuscan-themed expansion.
Reno holds several events throughout the year to draw tourists to the area. They include Hot August Nights (a classic car convention), Street Vibrations (a motorcycle fan gathering and rally), The Great Reno Balloon Race, a Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...
celebration, bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...
tournaments (held in the National Bowling Stadium), and the Reno Air Races
The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. ...
.
Several large commercial developments were constructed during the mid-2000s boom, such as The Summit in 2007 and Legends at Sparks Marina
The Outlets at Legends is an upscale outlet center in Sparks, Nevada, owned and managed by RED Development. Legends contains around 45 retailers and restaurants and it is anchored by Scheels All Sports. Lowes and Target also anchor the mall. A ca ...
in 2008.
Reno is the location of the corporate headquarters for several companies, including Braeburn Capital
Braeburn Capital Inc. is an asset management company based in Reno, Nevada and a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Its offices are located at 6900 S. McCarran Boulevard in Reno.
History
Apple created the company on October 3, 2005 to better manage i ...
, Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
, Server Technology, EE Technologies, Caesars Entertainment, and Port of Subs Port of Subs, Inc. is an American regional submarine sandwich shop chain headquartered in Reno, Nevada. The Port of Subs franchise has about 145 locations open. The chain only operates in the western United States.
History
The Larsen family founded ...
. Companies based in the Reno metropolitan area include Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is an American, privately held aerospace and national security contractor specializing in aircraft modification and integration, space components and systems, and related technology products for cybersecurity and ...
and U.S. Ordnance. International Game Technology
International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in ...
, Bally Technologies
Bally Technologies, Inc. is an American manufacturer of slot machines and other gambling technology based in Enterprise, Nevada. It is owned by Light & Wonder.
The company was founded in 1968 as Advanced Patent Technology. It eventually changed ...
and GameTech have a development and manufacturing presence.
Since the turn of the 21st century, greater Reno saw an influx of technology companies entering the area, following major initiatives and investments by investors from Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
& the Bay Area. The first one in 1999 was Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
in Fernley. After the Great Recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
, the state placed an increased focus on economic development. Thousands of new jobs were created.
The Tesla Gigafactory at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center, or TRIC) is a privately owned industrial park, located in Storey County, east of Reno, Nevada and south of Interstate 80. The center is the largest in the United States (third largest in the world), ...
is the largest building in the world, purportedly covering 5.8 million square feet.
The arrival of several data centers at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center, or TRIC) is a privately owned industrial park, located in Storey County, east of Reno, Nevada and south of Interstate 80. The center is the largest in the United States (third largest in the world), ...
is further diversifying a region that was best known for distribution and logistics outside gaming and tourism. Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
's new SuperNAP campus at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center, or TRIC) is a privately owned industrial park, located in Storey County, east of Reno, Nevada and south of Interstate 80. The center is the largest in the United States (third largest in the world), ...
is shaping up to be the largest data center in the world once completed. Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
is expanding its data center at the adjacent Reno Technology Park and recently built a warehouse on land in downtown Reno. Rackspace
Rackspace Technology, Inc. is an American cloud computing company based in Windcrest, Texas, an inner suburb of San Antonio, Texas. The company also has offices in Blacksburg, Virginia, and Austin, Texas, as well as in Australia, Canada, United ...
is also building a $422 million data center next to Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
.
The greater Reno area also hosts distribution facilities for Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
, Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, PetSmart
PetSmart is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors are Amazon, Walmart, ...
and Zulily
Zulily, LLC is an American e-commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington and owned by Qurate Retail Group. Its target audience is young mothers interested in brand-name goods for their children. It holds no inventory, instead consolida ...
.
Top employers
According to Reno's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Healthcare
Reno has several healthcare facilities. Many are affiliated with the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine.
* Northern Nevada Medical Center
* Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center
* Renown Regional Medical Center
* Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center
* University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine
* Veteran's Administration Sierra Nevada Healthcare System Reno, Nevada
Culture
Reno has several museums. The Nevada Museum of Art The Nevada Museum of Art, is an art museum in Reno, Nevada.
Located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, it is the only American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum has chosen a thematic approach, placi ...
is the only American Alliance of Museums
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
(AAM) accredited art museum in Nevada. The National Automobile Museum
The National Automobile Museum is a museum in Reno, Nevada. Most of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of William F. Harrah. The museum opened on November 5, 1989.
History
William F. Harrah collected approximately 1,450 automobiles, ...
contains 200 cars that were from the collection of William F. Harrah, including Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado
The Cadillac Eldorado is a luxury car manufactured and marketed by Cadillac from 1952 until 2002 over twelve generations.
The Eldorado was at or near the top of the Cadillac line. The original 1953 Eldorado convertible and the Eldorado Brougham ...
.
Reno also hosts a number of music venues, such as the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts (originally known as Pioneer Theater Auditorium) is a theater located in Reno, Nevada. It was designed by the Oklahoma City architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson and Roloff as a concrete structure with ...
, the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
The Reno Philharmonic Orchestra (Reno Phil) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Reno, Nevada. Its season runs from late September through April. The current music director is Laura Jackson.
History and organizational facts
The orches ...
, and the Reno Pops Orchestra {{primary sources, date=April 2019
Reno Pops Orchestra is an all volunteer community orchestra founded in 1982, based in Reno, Nevada. The orchestra is composed of over 65 musicians ranging in age from 11 to 90, including professional musicians, ...
. The Reno Youth Symphony Orchestra (YSO), affiliated with the Reno Philharmonic, gives talented youth the opportunity to play advanced music and perform nationwide. In 2016 they had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre is the resident ballet company of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. All of their classical performances are with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra.
Every July, Reno celebrates Artown, a visual and performing arts festival that lasts the entire month of July throughout the city. Along with performances, Artown partners with other institutions throughout the Reno Tahoe area to hold workshops, camps, and classes for all ages. All events are free of charge or low cost.
Reno has a public library, a branch of the Washoe County Library System. The Downtown branch of the Washoe County Library
The Downtown Reno Library is the main library of the Washoe County Library System, at 301 S. Center St. in Reno, Nevada. It occupies a historic Modern-style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Washoe County Library. ...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2013.
Sports
Reno is home to the Reno Aces
The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...
, the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, playing in Greater Nevada Field
Greater Nevada Field is a Minor League Baseball venue in the Western United States, located in Reno, Nevada. Opened on April 17, 2009, it is the home of the Triple-A Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League. Greater Nevada Field is on the north ba ...
, a downtown ballpark opened in 2009. Reno has hosted multiple professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
teams in the past, most under the Reno Silver Sox
The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...
name. The Reno Astros, a former professional, unaffiliated baseball team, played at Moana Stadium
Moana Stadium was a stadium in Reno, Nevada. It was primarily used for baseball. Teams that called the stadium home included the Reno Silver Sox, the Reno Blackjacks, Reno Padres and Reno Chukars. The ballpark had a capacity of 4,000 people ...
until 2009.
In basketball, the Reno Bighorns
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
of the NBA G League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...
played at the Reno Events Center
The Reno Events Center is a 7,000-seat multi-purpose arena, located in downtown Reno, Nevada, Reno, Nevada, that was constructed in January 2005.
It was the home to the Stockton Kings, Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League from 2008 to 2018 and to th ...
from 2008 to 2018. They were primarily an affiliate of the Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
throughout its existence. The Sacramento Kings bought the team in 2016 and moved the franchise to become the Stockton Kings in 2018.
Reno is host to both amateur and professional combat sporting events such as mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
and boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
. The "Fight of the Century
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Fight Of The Century'' or simply ''The Fight'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match between WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion Joe Frazier and former undisputed heavyweight cham ...
" between Jack Johnson and James J. Jeffries
James Jackson "Jim" Jeffries (April 15, 1875 – March 3, 1953) was an American professional boxer and World Heavyweight Champion.
He was known for his enormous strength and stamina. Using a technique taught to him by his trainer, former Welte ...
was held in Reno in 1910. Boxer Ray Mancini
Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...
fought four of his last five fights in Reno against Bobby Chacon
Bobby Chacon (November 28, 1951 – September 7, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC su ...
, Livingstone Bramble
Ras-I Alujah Bramble (born Livingstone Bramble on September 3, 1960) is the former WBA Lightweight boxing Champion of the World. Bramble was raised on Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He became the first world champion from Saint Kitts and Nev ...
, Héctor Camacho
Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...
, and Greg Haugen
Greg Lee Haugen (born August 31, 1960) is a retired American boxer. Haugen was champion at both the lightweight and light welterweight classes. He trained under Jim Montgomery.
Haugen turned pro in 1982 and won his first 17 fights before challen ...
.
Reno expected to be the future home of an ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The ...
ice hockey team, named the Reno Raiders
The Reno Renegades were a short-lived American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Reno, Nevada, Reno, Nevada. The team was a founding member of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).
History
The Renegades began play in the 1995–96 ...
, but construction on a suitable arena never began. The franchise was dormant since 1998, when it was named the Reno Rage, and earlier the Reno Renegades
The Reno Renegades were a short-lived American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Reno, Nevada. The team was a founding member of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).
History
The Renegades began play in the 1995–96 season in the ...
, and played in the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nev ...
(WCHL). In 2016, Reno was removed from the ECHL's Future Markets page.
The Reno–Tahoe Open
The Barracuda Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in California. Founded in 1999, it is an alternate event played annually in August. Previously played at Montrêux Golf and Country Club outside Reno, Nevada, the tourn ...
is northern Nevada's only PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
event, held at Montrêux Golf & Country Club in Reno. As part of the FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...
, the tournament follows 132 PGA Tour professionals competing for a share of the event's $3 million purse. The Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation has donated more than $1.8 million to local charities.
Reno has a college sports scene, with the Nevada Wolf Pack
The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada.
Hi ...
appearing in football bowl games and an Associated Press and Coaches Poll Top Ten ranking in basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
in 2018.
In 2004, the city completed a $1.5 million whitewater park on the Truckee River in downtown Reno which hosts whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
events throughout the year. The course runs Class 2 and 3 rapids with year-round public access. The north channel features more aggressive rapids, drop pools and "holes" for rodeo kayak-type maneuvers. The milder south channel is set up as a kayak slalom course and a beginner area.
Reno is home to two roller derby teams, the Battle Born Derby Demons and the Reno Roller Girls. The Battle Born Derby Demons compete on flat tracks locally and nationally. They are the only derby team locally to compete in a national Derby league.
Reno is the home of the National Bowling Stadium, which hosts the United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier of all tenpin bowling stand ...
(USBC) Open Championships every three years.
List of teams
Minor professional teams
Amateur teams
College teams
Recreation
Reno is home to a variety of recreation activities including both seasonal and year-round. In the summer, Reno locals can be found near three major bodies of water: Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
, and Pyramid Lake. The Truckee River originates at Lake Tahoe and flows west to east through the center of downtown Reno before terminating at Pyramid Lake to the north. The river is a major part of Artown
Artown is a culture festival, hosted in Reno, Nevada on a yearly basis which started in 1996. During the years it has hosted many famous artists like Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marcel Marceau and others.
History
In 1996, a group of business and arts ...
, held in the summer at Wingfield Park. Washoe Lake
Washoe Lake ( Washo: c'óʔyaʔ dáʔaw) is a lake located near Carson City in the Washoe Valley of Washoe County, Nevada. It is a very shallow lake with a surface area that can vary greatly from year to year. Washoe Lake State Park sits on th ...
is a popular kite and windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
location because of its high wind speeds during the summer.
Skiing and snowboarding are among the most popular winter sports and draw many tourists. There are 18 ski resorts (8 major resorts) as close as and as far as from the Reno–Tahoe International Airport, including Northstar California
Northstar California (previously Northstar-at-Tahoe) is a mountain resort in the western United States, located in Placer County, California, near the northwest shore of Lake Tahoe.
Approximately from the San Francisco Bay Area, the resort ...
, Sierra-at-Tahoe
Sierra-at-Tahoe is a ski and snowboard resort in Twin Bridges, California south of Lake Tahoe. Sierra-at-Tahoe is approximately 16 miles (26 km) south of Stateline, Nevada and 12 miles south of South Lake Tahoe on U.S. Route 50 and is ...
, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, Diamond Peak, Heavenly Mountain, and Mount Rose. Other popular Reno winter activities include snowshoeing, ice skating, and snowmobiling. There are many bike paths to ride in the summer time. Lake Tahoe hosts international bike competitions each summer.
Air races
The Reno Air Races
The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. ...
, also known as the National Championship Air Races, are held each September at the Reno Stead Airport
Reno Stead Airport is a large public and military general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. A for ...
.
Government
Reno has a democratic municipal government. The city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
is the core of the government, with seven members. Five of these council people represent districts of Reno, and are vetted in the primary by the citizens of each district. In general, the top two vote earners in each ward make the ballot for the citywide election. The other two council members are the at-large member, who represents the entire city, and the mayor, who is elected by the people of the city. The council has several duties, including setting priorities for the city, promoting communication with the public, planning development, and redevelopment.
There is an elected city attorney
A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality.
Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...
who is responsible for civil and criminal cases. The City Attorney represents the city government in court, and prosecutes misdemeanors.
The city's charter calls for a council-manager form of government, meaning the council appoints only two positions, the city manager, who implements and enforces the policies and programs the council approves, and the city clerk. The city manager is in charge of the budget and workforce for all city programs. The city clerk, who records the proceedings of the council, makes appointments for the council, and makes sure efficient copying and printing services are available.
In 2010, there was a ballot question asking whether the Reno city government and the Washoe County government should explore the idea of becoming one combined governmental body. Fifty-four percent of voters approved of the ballot measure to make an inquiry into consolidating the governments.
Fire department
The city of Reno is protected by the Reno Fire Department
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
(RFD) manning 14 fire stations.
The Reno Fire Department (RFD) provides all-risk emergency service to the City of Reno residents. All-risk emergency service is the national model of municipal fire departments, providing the services needed in the most efficient way possible.
The department provides paramedic-level service to the citizens and visitors of Reno. This is the highest level of emergency medical care available in the field.
In addition to responding to fires, whether they occur in structures, vegetation/brush or vehicles, the fire department also provides rescue capabilities for almost any type of emergency situation.
This includes quick and efficient emergency medical care for the citizens; a hazardous materials team capable of identifying unknown materials and controlling a release disaster; and preparedness and management of large-scale incidents.
Maintaining this level of service requires nearly constant training of personnel. This training maintains both the skills needed to operate safely in emergency environments and the physical fitness necessary to reduce the likelihood and severity of injuries.
The minimum annual-training requirement to maintain firefighting and medical skills is 240 hours per year. Special teams and company-level drills add significantly to that number of hours.
Education
Universities and colleges
* The University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...
is the oldest university in Nevada and Nevada System of Higher Education. In 1886, the state university, previously only a college preparatory school, moved from Elko in remote northeastern Nevada to north of downtown Reno, where it became a full-fledged state college. The university grew slowly over the decades, but it now has an enrollment of 21,353, with most students from within Nevada. Its specialties include mining engineering
Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...
, agriculture, journalism, business, and one of only two Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
Studies programs in the nation. It houses the National Judicial College
The National Judicial College (NJC) was established in 1963 as an entity within the American Bar Association. The NJC moved to the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UN ...
. The university was named one of the top 200 colleges in the nation in the most recent ''U.S. News & World Report'' National Universities category index.
* Truckee Meadows Community College
Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) is a public community college and technical college in the Truckee Meadows of Reno, Nevada. The college is primarily a commuter campus with 5 locations. TMCC offers students both certificate and associate ...
(TMCC) is a regionally accredited, two-year institution which is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The college has approximately 13,000 students attending classes at a primary campus and four satellite centers. It offers a wide range of academic and university transfer programs, occupational training, career enhancement workshops, and other classes. TMCC offers associate of arts, associate of science, associate of applied science or associate of general studies degrees, one-year certificates, or certificates of completion in more than 50 career fields, including architecture, auto/diesel mechanics, criminal justice, dental hygiene
Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...
, graphic design, musical theatre, nursing, and welding.
* Career College of Northern Nevada
The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...
(CCNN) is a nationally accredited trade school that trains students in technical fields that support fast growing industries. The college is locally owned and operated. Employer advisory boards direct the college to provide skill training that is relevant to industry needs.
* University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...
– Northern Nevada Campus is in south Reno. The university faculty is a collection business and academic professionals from the local Reno area.
* The Nevada School of Law at Old College
Nevada School of Law at Old College was the first law school established in the state of Nevada. The school, located in Reno, was founded in 1981 by former president of Gonzaga University Rev. John "Jack" P. Leary and then- Washoe County Distric ...
in Reno was the first law school established in the state of Nevada. Its doors were open from 1981 to 1988.
Public schools
Public education is provided by the Washoe County School District
The Washoe County School District (WCSD) is a public school district providing public education to students in all parts of Washoe County, Nevada, including the cities of Reno and Sparks, and the unincorporated communities of Verdi, Incline V ...
.
* Reno has twelve public high schools: Damonte Ranch
The Damonte Ranch started in 1939 when Louis Damonte, an Italian immigrant farmed alfalfa and raised cattle. The original Damonte Ranch included about known as the Peleg Brown Ranch, at 12945 Old Virginia Road in Reno, Nevada, back in 1864. A ...
, Galena, Hug
A hug is a form of endearment, universal in most human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two people are involved, it may be referre ...
, North Valleys High School, McQueen, Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology (AACT), Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, Truckee Meadows Community College High School, Innovations, and Wooster.
* There are three public high schools in neighboring Sparks, attended by many students who live in Reno: Reed
Reed or Reeds may refer to:
Science, technology, biology, and medicine
* Reed bird (disambiguation)
* Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times
* Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales
* ...
, Spanish Springs, and Sparks High School.
* Reno-Sparks has 15 middle schools: Billinghurst, Clayton, Cold Springs, Depoali, Dilworth, Herz, Mendive, O'Brien, Pine, Shaw, Sky Ranch, Sparks, Swope, Traner, and Vaughn.
* Reno-Sparks has 65 elementary schools: Allen, Anderson, Beasley, Jesse Beck, Bennett, Booth, Brown, Cannan, Caughlin Ranch, Corbett, Desert Heights, Diedrichsen, Dodson, Donner Springs, Double Diamond, Drake, Duncan, Katherine Dunn, Elmcrest, Gomes, Grace Warner, Greenbrae, Hidden Valley, Huffaker, Hunsberger, Hunter Lake, Jesse Beck, John C Bohach, Johnson, Juniper, Lemmon Valley, Elizabeth Lenz, Lincoln Park, Echo Loder, Mathews, Maxwell, Melton, Mitchell, Moss, Mount Rose, Natchez, Palmer, Peavine, Picollo Special Education School, Pleasant Valley, Risley, Roy Gomm, Sepulveda, Sierra Vista, Silver Lake, Alice Smith, Kate Smith, Smithridge, Spanish Springs, Stead, Sun Valley, Taylor, Towles, Van Gorder, Verdi ronounced VUR-die Veterans Memorial, Warner, Westergard, Whitehead, and Sarah Winnemucca. (some schools included on this list are in Sparks)
Public charter schools
Reno has many charter schools, which include Academy for Career Education, serving grades 10–12, opened 2002; Alpine Academy Charter High School, serving grades 9–12, opened 2009; Bailey Charter Elementary School, serving grades K-6, opened 2001; Coral Academy of Science, serving grades K-12; Davidson Academy
Davidson Academy is a private Christian school located in Nashville, Tennessee. It has students ranging from K-3 to 12th grade.
History
Davidson Academy, originally called Madison Christian School, enrolled students from grades one through four ...
, serving grades 6–12, opened 2006; High Desert Montessori School, serving grades PreK-7, opened 2002; I Can Do Anything Charter School, serving grades 9–12, opened 2000; Rainshadow Community Charter High School, serving grades 9–12, opened 2003; Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School, serving grades PreK-8, opened 1999; and TEAM A (Together Everyone Achieves More Academy), serving grades 9–12, opened 2004.
Private schools
Reno has a few private elementary schools such as Legacy Christian School, Excel Christian School, St. Nicholas Orthodox Academy, Lamplight Christian School, and Nevada Sage Waldorf School as well as private high schools, the largest of which are Bishop Manogue High School
Bishop Manogue Catholic High School is a Catholic high school in Reno, Nevada. It is the only Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno and one of only two Catholic high schools in the state of Nevada.
History
The Catholic high s ...
and Sage Ridge School
Sage Ridge is the only non-sectarian college preparatory school in the metropolitan area of the U.S. city of Reno, Nevada. It offers a diverse academic environment for grades 3 through 12 through the teaching of various mathematics, science, En ...
.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Roads
Reno was historically served by the Victory Highway
The Victory Highway was an auto trail across the United States between New York City and San Francisco, roughly equivalent to the present U.S. Route 40. It was created by the Victory Highway Association, which was organized in 1921 to locate and m ...
and a branch of the Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...
. After the formation of the U.S. Numbered Highways
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
system, U.S. Route 40 was routed along 4th Street through downtown Reno, before being replaced by Interstate 80. The primary north–south highway through Reno is U.S. Route 395
U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...
/ Interstate 580.
Bus
The Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC) has a bus system that provides intracity buses, intercity buses to Carson City, and an on-demand shuttle service for disabled persons. The system has its main terminal on 4th Street in downtown Reno and secondary terminals in Sparks and at Meadowood Mall
Meadowood Mall is a one-level, super-regional mall in Reno, Nevada, managed by Simon Property Group, which owns 50% of it. Meadowood Mall contains 125 retailers and restaurants and it is anchored by Macy's Women, Macy's Men/Home, JCPenney, and ...
in south Reno.
Numerous shuttle and excursion services are offered connecting the Reno–Tahoe International Airport
Reno–Tahoe International Airport is a public and military airport southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. T ...
to various destinations:
* North Lake Tahoe Express provides connecting shuttle service to North Lake Tahoe Resorts
* South Tahoe Airporter provides connecting shuttle service to South Lake Tahoe resorts.
* Eastern Sierra Transit Authority provides shuttles to destinations south along the US-395 corridor in California, such as Mammoth Mountain
Mammoth Mountain is a lava dome complex partially located within the town of Mammoth Lakes, California, in the Inyo National Forest of Madera and Mono Counties. It is home to a large ski area primarily on the Mono County side.
Mammoth Mount ...
and Lancaster
* Modoc Sage Stage provides shuttles to Alturas and Susanville, California, along the northern US-395 corridor.
* Salt Lake Express provides service to Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
mainly along the southern US-95 corridor.
Greyhound
The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
stops at a downtown terminal. Megabus Megabus may refer to:
*Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
*Megabus (North America)
Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
stopped at the Silver Legacy Reno
Silver Legacy Resort & Casino is a hotel and casino located in Downtown Reno, Nevada. It anchors a network of connected hotel-casinos in the downtown Reno core that included Circus Circus Reno and Eldorado Reno and are owned and operated by Caesa ...
, but has since discontinued service to Reno.
Rail
Reno was historically a stopover along the First transcontinental railroad; the modern Overland Route continues to run through Reno. Reno was additionally the southern terminus of the Nevada–California–Oregon Railway
The Nevada–California–Oregon Railway was a narrow gauge railroad originally planned to connect Reno, Nevada, to the Columbia River. However, only of track were laid so service never extended beyond Lakeview, Oregon. Because of the company ...
(NCO) and the northern terminus of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...
. Using the NCO depot and right of way, the Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...
also provided rail service to Reno. In the early 20th century, Reno also had a modest streetcar system. Downtown Reno has two historic train depots, the inactive Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot
The Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot was built by the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway (NCO) in 1910 in Reno, Nevada. It is Nevada Historical Marker number 210. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building to ...
and the active Amtrak depot at Reno station
Reno station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Reno, Nevada, served by the ''California Zephyr'' train. It is also served by Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach routes to Sacramento.
Description
The station is located at 280 North Center Street in d ...
, originally built by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
provides daily passenger service to Reno via the ''California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
'' at Reno station and via multiple Amtrak Thruway Motorcoaches that connect to trains departing from Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
Air
The city is served by Reno–Tahoe International Airport
Reno–Tahoe International Airport is a public and military airport southeast of downtown Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is the state's second busiest commercial airport after Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. T ...
, with general aviation traffic handled by Reno Stead Airport
Reno Stead Airport is a large public and military general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, 10 nautical miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Reno, in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. A for ...
. Reno–Tahoe International Airport is the second busiest commercial airport in the state of Nevada after Harry Reid International Airport
Harry Reid International Airport is an international airport in Paradise, Nevada, and is the main government airport for public use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada, about south of Downtown Las Vegas. ...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Reno was the hub and headquarters of the defunct airline Reno Air
Reno Air was a scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Reno, Nevada, United States. Reno Air provided service from its hubs at Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, San Jose International Airport in San Jose, California and La ...
.
Utilities
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) is a public authority providing water services in the Truckee Meadows of Washoe County in Northern Nevada, which serves more than 330,000 residents. The Authority is governed by a seven-member Board of Directo ...
provides potable water for the city. The Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
is the primary water source, with purification occurring at two plants, Chalk Bluff and Glendale. The Chalk Bluff plant's main intakes are west of Reno and south of Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
, with the water flowing through a series of flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...
s and ditches to the plant. Alternative intakes are below the plant along the banks of the Truckee River itself. The Glendale plant is alongside the river, and is fed by a rock and concrete rubble diversion dam a short distance upstream.
Sewage treatment for most of the Truckee Meadows region takes place at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility at the eastern edge of the valley. Treated effluent returns to the Truckee River by way of Steamboat Creek.
NV Energy
NV Energy is a public utility which generates, transmits and distributes electric service in northern and southern Nevada, including the Las Vegas Valley, and provides natural gas service in the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area of northern Nevada ...
, formerly Sierra Pacific, provides electric power and natural gas. Power comes from multiple sources, including Tracy-Clark Station to the east, and the Steamboat Springs binary cycle A binary cycle is a method for generating electrical power from geothermal resources and employs two separate fluid cycles, hence binary cycle. The primary cycle extracts the geothermal energy from the reservoir, and secondary cycle converts the ...
power plants at the southern end of town.
Notable people
Filming location
Movies filmed in Reno include:
* ''The Cooler
''The Cooler'' is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Bald ...
''
* ''Magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
''
* '' Hard Eight''
* ''Charley Varrick
''Charley Varrick'' (a.k.a.''The Last of the Independents'' and ''Kill Charley Varrick'') is a 1973 American neo-noir crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. ''Charley Varric ...
''
* '' Into the Wild''
* ''Desert Hearts
''Desert Hearts'' is a 1985 American romantic drama film directed by Donna Deitch. The screenplay, written by Natalie Cooper, is an adaptation of the 1964 lesbian novel '' Desert of the Heart'' by Jane Rule. Set in Reno, Nevada in 1959, it ...
''
* ''The Wizard
Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to:
* Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic
* Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic
Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters
* Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...
''
* ''Jinxed!
''Jinxed!'' (also branded as ''Jinxed'' on promotional media) is a 1982 American comedy film starring Bette Midler, Rip Torn and Ken Wahl. The film was the last to be directed by Don Siegel, who suffered a heart attack during production. Sam Peck ...
''[
* '' The Misfits'']
* '' Kingpin''
* '' ...All the Marbles''
* '' Pink Cadillac''[
* '']Diamonds
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...
''
* ''Sister Act
''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. I ...
''
* ''Father's Day
Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the Unite ...
''
* '' Waking Up in Reno''
* ''Austin Powers in Goldmember
''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third in the ''Austin Powers'' film series and stars Mike Myers in four roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers a ...
''
* ''Jane Austen's Mafia!
''Mafia!'', also known as ''Jane Austen's Mafia!'', is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Jay Mohr, Lloyd Bridges (in one of his final films), Olympia Dukakis and Christina Applegate.
The film spoofs Francis ...
''
* '' 40 Pounds of Trouble''
* ''California Split
''California Split'' is a 1974 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Altman and starring Elliott Gould and George Segal as a pair of gamblers and was the first non-Cinerama film to use eight-track stereo sound.
Plot
In Los Angeles, ...
''
* '' Up Close & Personal''[DuVal.(2002) p.177]
* '' The Pledge''
* '' Kill Me Again''[
* '']The Last Don
''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author Mario Puzo, best known as the author of the 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. The story follows an aging Mafia Don and his family as they try to retain power.
The story alternates between the fil ...
''
* ''Ocean's Eleven
''Ocean's Eleven'' is a 2001 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Ted Griffin. The first installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name. The ...
''
* '' Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble''
* ''Blind Fury
''Blind Fury'' is a 1989 American action comedy film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Rutger Hauer, Brandon Call, Terry O'Quinn, Lisa Blount, Randall "Tex" Cobb, and Noble Willingham. The screenplay by Charles Robert Carner is a loosely ba ...
''
* ''Melvin and Howard
''Melvin and Howard'' (stylized as ''Melvin (and Howard)'') is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was listed as the b ...
''
* ''Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
''Mr. Belvedere Goes to College'' is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent. The screenplay written by Mary Loos, Mary C. McCall, Jr., and Richard Sale was based on characters created by Gwen Davenport. It follows on from '' Sitti ...
''
* ''Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...
''
* ''Wild Is the Wind
''Wild is the Wind'' is a 1957 film directed by George Cukor and starring Anna Magnani, Anthony Quinn, and Anthony Franciosa. It tells the story of an American rancher who, after his wife dies, goes to Italy to marry her sister, but finds that s ...
''
* ''Born to Kill Born to Kill may refer to:
Film
* ''Born to Kill'' (1947 film), a film noir directed by Robert Wise
* ''Born to Kill'' (1967 film), a Spaghetti Western directed by Antonio Mollica
* ''Born to Kill'' (1974 film) or ''Cockfighter'', a film direct ...
''
* ''The Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...
''
* ''Promised Land
The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...
''
* ''The Motel Life
''The Motel Life'' (2006) is the debut novel by musician and writer Willy Vlautin. It tells the story of two brothers from Reno, Nevada, whose lives are thrown into turmoil following a tragic accident. It was made into a movie starring Emile H ...
''
* ''5 Against the House
''5 Against the House'' is a 1955 American heist film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Guy Madison, Kim Novak and Brian Keith. The supporting cast includes William Conrad. The screenplay is based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel of the same nam ...
''
Music videos filmed in Reno include:
* ''Drive Slow
"Drive Slow" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his second studio album, ''Late Registration'' (2005). The song features guest appearances from fellow rappers Paul Wall and GLC, and additional vocals by American recording artist Ton ...
'' – Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
* ''Little Motel'' – Modest Mouse
* ''Take Me Home Tonight'' – Eddie Money
Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Pa ...
* ''Send The Pain Below
"Send the Pain Below" is a song by Chevelle, released as the second single from their second album, ''Wonder What's Next'' (2002). It is one of their biggest hits, reaching 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart on July 5, 2003, for a week, and st ...
'' - Chevelle
* ''Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...
''- Johnny Cash
Twin towns – sister cities
Reno's sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
are:
* Hatzor HaGlilit
Hatzor HaGlilit ( he, חָצוֹר הַגְּלִילִית lit. "Hatzor of Galilee") is a town in the Korazim Plateau in northern Israel near Rosh Pinna and Safed. It is named for the nearby biblical site of Tel Hazor. In it had a population o ...
, Israel
* San Sebastián, Spain
* Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...
, Taiwan
* Udon Thani
Udon Thani ( th, อุดรธานี, ) is a city in Isan ( Northeast Thailand), the capital of Udon Thani Province and with a population of approximately 430,000 in its urban area the 7th largest city in the country. The city municipality ...
, Thailand
* Wirral, England, United Kingdom
* Nalchik, Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
City of Reno official website
Reno Historical app (Nevada Humanities)
*
{{Authority control
1868 establishments in Nevada
Articles containing video clips
Cities in Nevada
Cities in Washoe County, Nevada
County seats in Nevada
Gambling in Nevada
Populated places established in 1868
Populated riverside places in the United States
.