Battle Mountain is an unincorporated town in, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of,

Lander County, Nevada Lander County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,734. Its county seat is Battle Mountain, Nevada, Battle Mountain. History Lander County was c ...

, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2020 census. Its primary economic base is gold mining and, to a lesser extent, legalized gambling. The town is located on

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

between Winnemucca and Elko.

History

The Battle Mountain area was home to the

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

and

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

peoples. The area was noted by fur trappers in the 1820s and '30s. It served as a waypoint for westward-bound travel on the Emigrant Trail along the

Humboldt River The Humboldt River is the longest river in the northern and central part of Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in northern Nevada's Jarbidge Mountains, Jarbidge, Independence Mountains, Independence, and ...

by 1845. According to local legend, the name stems from confrontations between Native Americans and early settlers during the 1850s.Battle Mountain Community
Lander County Online Government. 2015. Accessed: November 7, 2021. When

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

ore was discovered and mining began in 1866, the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...

started a station in Argenta to support the mining activity. In 1868, the railroad established the Reese River siding in Battle Mountain to support it, but in 1870, the railroad moved the Argenta station to Battle Mountain and established a townsite to serve the Battle Mountain copper and gold mining district. Two railroads headquartered there starting in 1890: the Central Nevada Railway and the Battle Mountain and Lewis Railroad. As of 2009, the railway is still in use. In 1874, the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of the Nevada Assembly (lower house with 42 members) and the Nevada Senate (upper house with 21 members). With a total of 63 seats, the Legisla ...

overrode the governor's veto and approved a railroad from

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

to Battle Mountain. The Nevada Central Railroad from Battle Mountain to Austin was completed in 1880. The rail line was constructed to connect the silver mines around Austin to the Central Pacific line at Battle Mountain. The rail line served the Austin area until it was abandoned in 1938.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

spoke in the town in 1879 during his western speaking tour. President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

established Battle Mountain Indian Colony by executive order in 1918. In 1919, Nevada's Red Scare Miners held a ten-day strike at the Battle Mountain Copper Mines. On May 15, 1979, the voters of Lander County approved the move of the county seat from Austin to Battle Mountain in a special election. In a subsequent ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed this decision. Chiefs Frank Temoke and Frank Brady refused the government's offer of a payoff under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley at Battle Mountain on December 11, 1992. The 2008 Wells, Nevada,

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

of 6.3 magnitude that affected the northeastern part of the state severely damaged one of the city's oldest historical buildings, the Lemaire Building, which was condemned.

Geography

Battle Mountain is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Humboldt and the Reese. The town is in the Humboldt valley between the Shoshone Range to the southeast, the Battle Mountains to the southwest and the Sheep Creek Range across the Humboldt to the north. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the community has a total area of , all land.

Geology

Copper mining started in 1866 and the Copper Canyon Mine operated from 1917 until 1955. The Tomboy-Minnie

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

deposits were developed after the depletion of the West ore body, which was developed after the depletion of the East ore body.

Open-pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...

started in 1967.

Placer gold Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...

was discovered in 1912. Mining switched from the copper-gold-silver ores to gold-silver ores in 1979. The Fortitude gold-silver

skarn Skarns or tactites are coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by replacement of carbonate-bearing rocks during regional or contact metamorphism and metasomatism. Skarns may form by metamorphic recrystallization of impure carbonate protoliths, ...

body was discovered in 1981. The Surprise gold deposit was discovered in 1986. The economic geologic zone is primarily in the Antler

Sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is cal ...

, consisting of the Middle Pennsylvanian Battle Formation, the Pennsylvanian to

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

Antler Peak

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, and the Permian Edna Mountain Formation. These

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

rocks were intruded in the

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

by a

granodiorite Granodiorite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

porphyry which generated the ore bodies as zones of disseminated

sulfide minerals The sulfide minerals are a class of minerals containing sulfide (S2−) or disulfide () as the major anion. Some sulfide minerals are economically important as metal ores. The sulfide class also includes the selenides, the tellurides, the ar ...

. These zones include copper-gold-silver next to the granodiorite, followed by a gold-silver zone, then a lead-zinc-silver zone. File:Battle Mtn Au & Cu mines.jpg, Gold and copper mines in the Battle Mountain Mining District. As of 2019, the mines are operated by Newmont Goldcorp as the Phoenix Mine. File:Battle Mountain Geology.PNG, Battle Mountain Geology Map File:Battle Mountain Geology Index.PNG, Battle Mountain Geology Map Index

Battle Mountain meteorite

meteorite fall A meteorite fall, also called an observed fall, is a meteorite collected after its fall from outer space, that was also observed by people or automated devices. Any other meteorite is called a "meteorite find, find". There are more than 1,300 d ...

was reported on 22 Aug 2012 on Battle Mountain at coordinates . It was classified as an ordinary

chondrite A chondrite is a stony (non-metallic) meteorite that has not been modified by either melting or planetary differentiation, differentiation of the parent body. They are formed when various types of dust and small grains in the early Solar Syste ...

, and a 1.4-pound (630-gram) fragment was sent to NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

for analysis.

Climate

Battle Mountain's climate is cool semi-arid (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSk''), receiving just enough precipitation to avoid arid classification. Due to aridity and high elevation, the area commonly experiences large

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, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

, particularly in summer, when it averages almost . The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. There are, on average, fourteen afternoons of or hotter maxima, 74 afternoons of or hotter maxima, eleven afternoons where the high does not rise above freezing, and seven mornings falling to or below annually; the average window for freezing temperatures is September 16 to May 29. By far the coldest recorded month has been January 1949, with a mean of and a mean minimum of – between January 2 and February 3, the temperature did not reach freezing, whereas during the winter of 2011/2012 every single day topped freezing. The hottest month has been July 2013, with a mean of and a mean maximum of , although July 2007's maximum was even hotter at . With a period of record only dating back to 1944, extremes range from on December 22, 1990, up to on July 12, 2002. The mean seasonal snowfall of on average occurs from November 25 to April 2, with half the annual snow falling during December and January alone. The snowiest season has been from July 1992 to June 1993, with a total of , whereas only fell from July 2014 and June 2015. Total seasonal precipitation has ranged from between July 1997 and June 1998, down to only between July 1958 and June 1959.

Demographics

The 2020 census showed the Battle Mountain CDP to have a population of 3,705 people, up from 3,635 in 2010. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,871 people, 1,053 households, and 731 families residing in the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) of Battle Mountain. The population density was . There were 1,455 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 81.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.14%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.54% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 11.81% from other races, and 3.69% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 23.58% of the population. There were 1,053 households, out of which 41.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.28. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 33.8% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.4 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $42,981, and the median income for a family was $50,995. Males had a median income of $45,313 versus $25,417 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $16,975. About 7.8% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Battle Mountain has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System.

Sports

Battle Mountain hosts an annual bike race on a long, straight, flat stretch of Highway 305 just outside town. The event draws teams from all over the world as they attempt to build and pedal the fastest bicycles on earth. The event is known as the "World Human Powered Speed Challenge". On September 16, 2016, Todd Reichert became "the fastest man alive" by pedaling a streamlined bicycle at over a distance at the end of a run. Reichert had an excellent week, setting five new records and smashing the previous record set by Sebastiaan Bowier on September 14, 2013. Previously, Sam Whittingham's record run in 2009 won the decimach prize for going one tenth the speed of sound (with adjustments for slope and elevation). In 2019,

Ilona Peltier ''Ilona'' is a feminine given name used primarily in Hungary and Finland, as well as in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The name Ilona is the Hungarian form of the Greek name Helenē (Ἑλένη), which is commonly interpreted to mean ...

, a French woman, became "the fastest woman alive" by setting the world woman's bicycle speed record at . Also annually held on the same stretch of road is the "Pony Express", an open road event from Battle Mountain to Austin and back. It is the longest open road race in the country, averaging a total of . The race consists of vehicles ranging from 1960s-era

muscle car A muscle car is an American-made two-door sports coupe with a powerful engine, marketed for its performance. In 1949, General Motors introduced its 88 with the company's OHV Rocket V8 engine, which was previously available only in its lux ...

s to the most modern sports cars.

Education

Public education in Battle Mountain is administered by Lander County School District, which operates Battle Mountain High School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Battle Mountain is located along

, approximately halfway between

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, and

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

. Battle Mountain is the starting point of Nevada State Route 305, which heads southward to

. The

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

line runs through Battle Mountain. The historic narrow-gauge Nevada Central Railroad line ran from Battle Mountain to Austin, but has long been defunct. Battle Mountain Airport (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

: BAM,

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

: KBAM, FAA LID: BAM), also known as Lander County Airport, is a public-use airport located southeast of the central business district of Battle Mountain. This general aviation airport is owned by Lander County and operated by the Battle Mountain Airport Authority.

Notable people

Joyce Collins Joyce Collins (born 5 May 1930, Battle Mountain, Nevada – died January 3, 2010) was a jazz pianist, singer and educator. Collins began playing piano professionally at the age of 15 while still attending Reno High School in Nevada. Later, whi ...

, jazz pianist, singer, and educator *

Mary Dann and Carrie Dann The Dann Sisters, Mary Dann (1923–2005) and Carrie Dann (1932–2021), were Western Shoshone elders who were spiritual leaders, ranchers, and cultural, spiritual rights and land rights activists. They challenged the federal government over uses ...

, (Crescent Valley) Western Shoshone activists for cultural and spiritual rights and land rights * James H. Ledlie, Union officer in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

whom

called "the greatest coward of the war" * John Marvel, rancher and legislator * Jeannette Walls, author

National recognition

In December 2001, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' published an article by

Gene Weingarten Gene Norman Weingarten is an American journalist, and former syndicated humor columnist for ''The Washington Post.'' He is the only two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. Weingarten is known for both his serious and humor ...

titled "Why Not The Worst?" that popularly titled Battle Mountain as the "Armpit of America". The town used the unofficial title as a publicity opportunity, and hosted an annual "Armpit Festival" from 2002–2005, which was sponsored by

Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand offering male grooming products including aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, shaving cream, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early Amer ...

and awarded deodorant-themed prizes to participants. On January 2, 2009, ''The New York Times'' released an article titled "A Nevada Town Escapes the Slump, Thanks to Gold". The article regards the national economic depression and discusses Battle Mountain's economy.

References

External links

Local tourism website
{{Authority control Humboldt River Census-designated places in Lander County, Nevada County seats in Nevada Unincorporated towns in Nevada