Nye County

Nye County is a county in central and southern Nevada, spanning from Death Valley National Park to the Lincoln County border. The area includes desert basins, isolated mountain ranges, and broad valleys linked by a few paved highways.

The county formed during the Civil War and took the name of the first governor of Nevada Territory. Mining settlements in the early twentieth century shaped development and left abandoned towns scattered across the desert.

The region contains numerous ghost towns from the early 1900s mining era, including Rhyolite, which reached a population of 10,000 during its peak.

Tonopah in the north offers government offices, while Pahrump in the south is the largest town with road connections to Las Vegas. Fuel up before longer drives and plan extra time for distances between settlements.

A former nuclear weapons testing site sits within the county boundaries, and some sections remain closed to the public. Visitors can explore abandoned mining settlements from around nineteen hundred, where partly preserved buildings and ruins still stand.

Location: Nevada

Inception: 1864

Capital city: Tonopah

Shares border with: Lander County, Churchill County, Lincoln County, Eureka County, White Pine County, Clark County, Esmeralda County, Mineral County, Inyo County

Website: https://nyecountynv.gov

GPS coordinates: 38.05000,-116.45000

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:03