Reno

Sister cities

• Shenzhen
• San Sebastián
• Nalchik
• Yellowknife
• Hatzor HaGlilit
• Udon Thani
• Taichung

History

Archaeological finds place the eastern border of the prehistoric Martis people in the Reno area. As early as the mid-1850s, a few pioneers settled in the Truckee Meadows, a relatively fertile valley through which the Truckee River made its way from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. In addition to subsistence farming, these early residents could pick up business from travelers along the California Trail, which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off toward Donner Lake, where the formidable obstacle of the Sierra Nevada began. Gold was discovered in the vicinity of Virginia City in 1850, and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of silver in 1859 at the Comstock Lode 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 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, 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 from part of Utah Territory in 1861. By January 1863, the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) had begun laying tracks east from Sacramento, California, eventually connecting with the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah, 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…

Geography

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 (vertical motion) faults associated with the extension of the earth's lithosphere and the uplift of the various mountain ranges, including the Sierra Nevada. In February 2008, an earthquake swarm began to occur, lasting for several months. The largest event in the swarm was measured at magnitude 4.9 by the USGS; some seismic analyses suggested it may have approached magnitude 5.0. The earthquakes were centered on the Somersett community in western Reno near Mogul and Verdi. Many homes in these areas were damaged. Nevada's high desert geology and vast federal lands attract amateur rockhounders and mineral collectors, who commonly find agate, opal, jasper, petrified wood, and fluorescent minerals. The Reno area is often subject to wildfires that cause property damage and sometimes loss of life. Roughly 80% of homes in the area have a risk of being impacted by wildfire. 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. In September 2024, the Davis Fire burned heavily forested regions in Southwest Reno. Fourteen structures burned in the area, and twenty thousand people were evacuated. Reno has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk), bordering a…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,900
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,740
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,405
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  13,174
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  12,949
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  12,497
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  11,548
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  10,852

Largest nearby schools

• NORTH VALLEYS HIGH SCHOOL
  High · RENO · 2,432 students · 24.6:1 ratio
• PROCTER R. HUG HIGH SCHOOL
  High · Sparks · 2,331 students · 25.9:1 ratio
• EDWARD C. REED HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SPARKS · 2,144 students · 25.2:1 ratio
• SPANISH SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SPARKS · 2,057 students · 23.9:1 ratio
• RENO HIGH SCHOOL
  High · RENO · 1,796 students · 24.9:1 ratio
• ROBERT MCQUEEN HIGH SCHOOL
  High · RENO · 1,643 students · 24.9:1 ratio
• EARL WOOSTER HIGH SCHOOL
  High · RENO · 1,509 students · 21:1 ratio
• SPARKS HIGH SCHOOL
  High · SPARKS · 1,311 students · 22.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.75 — 2026-10-15
  20 km ESE of Silver Springs, Nevada
• M 2.8 — 2026-10-05
  22 km NNE of Yerington, Nevada
• M 2.87 — 2026-10-03
  9 km WSW of South Lake Tahoe, CA
• M 3.27 — 2026-10-02
  9 km WSW of South Lake Tahoe, CA
• M 2.53 — 2026-09-30
  20 km E of Markleeville, CA
• M 2.77 — 2026-09-23
  1 km WNW of Sun Valley, Nevada