Fallon

Sister cities

• Vani

History

The community was first populated during the California Gold Rush, because multiple would-be Forty-niners stopped after crossing the Carson River. The town and post office were established on July 24, 1896, in a little shack belonging to Michael Fallon and Eliza Fallon, who operated a ranch at the site. Shortly afterwards, Jim Richards later operated a store near the post office. The town was officially incorporated in 1908.

Geography

Fallon is located in western Churchill County at the geographic coordinates (39.472792, −118.778826). It is in the Lahontan Valley, a former lakebed into which flows the Carson River, which passes north of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, Fallon has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.49%, is water. Fallon experiences a cool arid climate (Köppen BWk), with hot summers and cold winters. Due to Fallon's elevation and aridity, the diurnal temperature variation is quite substantial, especially in the summer months. Summer days can be hot, but temperatures are cooler than in deserts such as the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan, due to Fallon's altitude and higher latitude. In the winter, daytime temperatures top freezing on all but eight afternoons, but nights can be bitterly cold, with 2.9 mornings falling to and a record low of on February 6, 1989. Fallon's climate is quite dry, due to its location in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, with only half as much precipitation as Minden marginally further west, and only one-eleventh as much as Grass Valley on the other side of the Sierra. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1976 to June 1977 with and the driest from July 1949 to June 1950 with . The most precipitation in one month has been in May 1995, and the most in one day , which occurred twice on January 1, 1910 and May 28, 1913. Snowfall is extremely light because of the aridity: the most in one season is only between July 1988 and June 1989 and numerous seasons have passed without measurable snow. The most snow in one month has been in January 1916. Fallon can experience heavy fog in winter, known as pogonip.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Churchill County High School
  High · Fallon · 1,054 students · 31:1 ratio
• Churchill County Middle School
  Middle · Fallon · 741 students · 20:1 ratio
• Oasis Academy
  Other · Fallon · 735 students · 25.3:1 ratio
• Lahontan Elementary School
  Elementary · Fallon · 474 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Numa Elementary School
  Elementary · Fallon · 469 students · 18:1 ratio
• E C Best Elementary
  Elementary · Fallon · 445 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Northside Early Learning Center
  Other · Fallon · 159 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Churchill County Adult Ed
  Other · Fallon · 52 students