The Virginia Range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

of western

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, 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 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 United ...

.Smith, G.H., 1943, The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850–1997, Reno: University of Nevada Press,

Geography

The

forms a portion of the drainage divide between 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 ...

(north) and the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern List of Nevada rivers, Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five co ...

(south).

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 ...

and the

Washoe Valley The Washoe Valley is a geographical region in the United States covering in southern Washoe County in the state of Nevada. Located between Reno and Carson City, it is named for the Washoe people, Native Americans who lived there before the arr ...

are to the west, and the

Lahontan Valley The Lahontan Valley is a basin in Churchill County, Nevada, United States. The valley is a landform of the central portion of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan's lakebed of 20,000-9,000 years ago. The valley and the adjacent Carson Sink represent a ...

is to the east. It is associated with the

Flowery Range The Flowery Range is a mountain range associated with the Virginia Range in Storey County, 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, Califo ...

. Several paths lead into the Virginia Range. The highest peak is Mount Davidson at 7864 ft / 2397 m, near

Virginia City, Nevada 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 ...

. Other nearby peaks are Mount Bullion at 7682 ft / 2341 m and Ophir Hill at 7782 ft / 2372 m.

Flora

Jeffrey pine (''Pinus jeffreyi'') is the dominant species at higher elevations. Other trees in the range include the Single-leaf Pinyon Pine (''Pinus monophylla'') and Utah Juniper (''Juniperus osteosperma'').

Mining history

For the notable 1860s silver strike and mining town in the Virginia Range, see: *

Virginia City Historic District (Virginia City, Nevada) Virginia City Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing the former mining villages of Virginia City and Gold Hill, both in Storey County, as well as Dayton and Silver City, both to the south in adjacent Lyo ...

National Register of Historic Places in Storey County, Nevada __NOTOC__ This is a list of properties and historic districts in Nevada that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There is at least one listing in each of Nevada's 16 counties and one independent city. Current listings by c ...

References

External links

Geology of the Virginia City Quadrangle, Nevada
by GEORGE A. THOMPSON, 1950
Topology map
{{coord, 39, 29.5, N, 119, 33.1, W, type:mountain_region:US-NV, display=title Mountain ranges of Nevada Mountain ranges of Storey County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Lyon County, Nevada Mountain ranges of the Great Basin Virginia City, Nevada