ARID Nevada is a phrase used only by those who do not know the State. Meadows so densely covered with wild iris that they resemble lakes, roadsides banked with the native wild peach in a display that rivals Washington's famed cherry blossoms, late snowfields splashed with the brilliant red of snowplant, mountain trails almost obscured by the profusion of blue lupine, red Indian paintbrush, and wild rose, deserts aflame with the bloom of cactus—this is the true Nevada.

From the highest peaks to the lowest valleys, vegetation is abundant. It covers at least six distinct life zones—the alpine, the sub-alpine, the yellow pine, the pinon-juniper, the sagebrush, and in southern Nevada the creosote bush (CoviHea). Because of diversified topography, Nevada has within its borders nearly all the plants characteristic of the South-  west and West. Noticeable in the valleys is the line of demarcation be-  tween the flora typical of the Western United States and the flora typical of the Southwest, which runs irregularly from near Tonopah to the southern section of the Nevada-Utah line. The dominant species over much of the territory north of this line is the sagebrush, and south of it the creosote bush. Although there are many species of sagebrush, the three-dented leaf sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is the most com-  mon—hence the nickname, "the Sagebrush State." Under favorable conditions this shrub grows to a height of ten feet and in the fall its silvery green leaf and inconspicuous lemon-yellow flower stalk is a familiar sight. The creosote bush (Covillea tridentata) t a striking shrub with glossy leaves and attractive flowers, forms a sea of yellow when it bursts into bloom.

So diversified is the State's topography that only a single hour of travel is needed from any of the larger towns to make the transition from the sagebrush to the creosote bush zones, and in many places into the yellow pine and aspen belts as well. On Charleston Mountain, near Las Vegas, it takes less than an hour to pass from cactus and creosote bush to the alpine zone; and in the western part of the State a trip from Reno to Lake Tahoc over the Mount Rose road passes through four of the six life zones.

In mountainous areas all over the State the alpine belts, with their peculiar tundra-like vegetation above timberline, contribute few flowers; many of the peaks are snow-capped the year round and the growing season of plants near the snow is very short. Yet species of Eriogonum, Phacelia, and Hulsea occur, all of them extremely hardy and able to withstand the nightly frosts prevalent most of the year. Close below the alpine, in the timberline belt, are sparse thickets of willow and alder— along stream banks; there, also, are the evergreen white-barked pine (Pinus albicaulus), mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), an occa-  sional red fir (Abies magnified), and stands of false hellebore (Fera- trum cahfornicum), Senecio, larkspur (Delphinium), shooting stars (Dodecatheon jefreyi), monkey-flower (Mimulus guttatus), white and yellow violets, with here and there a patch of chinese-red paint brush. These are scattered among forage grasses and elderberry, currant, and gooseberry bushes. In sheltered spots stand clumps of the white-limbed quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) that form such incredibly bril-  liant spots of yellow against bright blue autumn skies. The flowering season in these upper zones is between the latter part of June and early October. Unfortunately for the flower-lover, grazing stock in unpro-  tected areas is apt to leave the alpine and sub-alpine meadows denuded before the season is far advanced.

The belt converging into the sub-alpine is probably richer in color and has more numerous species than the one above it, for there the longer growing season fosters many herbaceous plants. The soil of the zone is usually fertile and produces bunch wheat grass, fendler blue grass (Poa fendleriana), red crooked-stem, and the manzanita (Arc- tostaphylos nevadensis), whose small but attractive pink flowers give way to a brick red berry during the winter. Also in this zone are the glossy-leafed snow bush or tobacco bush (Ceanothus velutinus) and its prostrate relative, the squaw mat (Ceanothus prostrates), whose beau-  tiful blue flowers form a delicate carpet for the forest floor. On stream banks monkshood (Aconitum columbianum), columbine (Aquilegia formosa), meadow rue (Thalictrum fendlcri)% and woodland ferns grow among thickets of wild rose, dogwood, and willow with green forest for a background.

A magnificent tree found in this yellow pine belt is the "queen of the Sierra" (Pinus lambertiana), the sugar pine, a tree of great com-  mercial value; the outstretched, horizontal branches, drooping at the ends, hold long slender cones. Scattered in the woods at the northern end of Lake Tahoe are pure stands of the lodge-pole pine (Pinus con-

torta). In the early spring, as the snow begins to melt, the blood-red snov/plant pushes its way through snow banks in clumps of from one to twenty plants. These patches of vivid color are startling to those who see them for the first time. The snowplant is found only in the Sierra Nevada and dies if transplanted.

Below the yellow pine belt, in the lower valleys, the vegetation be-  longs to another world; there grow the scrub junipers and single- leafed pines—the nut pine, with numerous species of sagebrush, rabbit brush, and other desert flora. The northern and western boundary of the nut pine range is about thirteen miles south of Reno near Steamboat Springs, though scattered trees are found northward. The plant fur-  nished the aborigines with one of their most delectable foods, and still holds favor with the Indians, as well as with white Nevadans. Asso-  ciated with the pine-nut pine or pinon pine, and sometimes forming characteristic belts, are the western juniper (Juniperus utahensis) and (Juniperus menosperma). These dull-green, shrubby trees with scaly leaves, standing solitary or in large patches, are in striking contrast to the grey-green of the rabbit brush and sagebrush. Also in the foothills is found the antelope brush (Purshia tridentetta), whose yellow flowers aie sure signs of early spring. Another shrub among sagebrush, ante-  lope brush, and rabbit brush, particularly near Reno, is the wild peach (Emplectocladus andersonii), whose pink flowers make the roadsides flame. Also in the spring come the desert sego lily, sprengel's fnttillaria, the white or yellow Indian potato, the mahogany-colored wild peony, violets, the delicate creamy pink star of bethlehem, and almost endless varieties of onions, desert lilies, and monkey flowers to form a bright carpet over the earth. In the summer and fall the carpet changes color constantly as the lupines, Astragulus (loco weed), California bee plant, citrus plants (Dalea polyadenia), sagebrush, rabbit brush, balsam root, and wild sunflower—representing a variety of genera—appear in the valleys.

In the supposedly barren desert, the alkaline beds of extinct lakes, is another distinct type of vegetation. True, it is not as extensive as the belts that extend about it, nor do the flowers appear in such pro-  fusion, but against the white alkali the blooms are brilliant spots of color, as is the foliage in the fall. The desert plants are the salt bushes (Atriplex canescens and Grayia spinosa), grease wood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), seep weed (Dondia occidentals), iodine bush (Allen- rolfea occidentals), and samphire (Sahcornea europea). The last is es-  pecially beautiful in October, when the whole plant, turning red, is

vivid against the dry white alkali. The seeds of the salt hushes are very salty and were at one time used to give flavor in cooking. It is tl>e con-  centration of salts in the soil that prevents most species from growing in the desert and the type of plant found in an area depends more or less on the percentage of salts in the soil.

In the Covillea helt the vegetation is characteristic of the Southwest. Here are the Joshua and other yuccas, the cacti, the cliff rose (Cowanta stansburiana), the fern bush (Chamaebatiaria millefolium), mesquile (Prosopis chilensis and Prosopis glandulosa), and ocotillo (Fouqmcna splendent), all adding beauty to the country. The ocotillo, or candle flower, which grows along the Colorado River, is sometimes as much as twenty feet high and has long slender steins with a basal armor of spines; these are topped with hundreds of flame-colored flowers resem-  bling immense candles.

Among Nevada's twenty-eight species of cacti, one of great interest is the barrel cactus, which, when the top is cut off, reveals a pulp that can be mashed and squeezed to provide a refreshing drink. Indians often resorted to this plant to quench their thirst in the desert.

The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), largest of the yuccas, is one of the most grotesque plants; it often reaches a height of forty feet and on moonlight nights its branches seem like imploring arms. When in bloom its creamy white flowers form an unforgettable sight.

The herbaceous plants are numerous in this lowest belt and fiom early spring, sometimes as early as February, to May and June they add to the desert color. By the time the hot summer days arrive some of the lower valley plants are nearly gone, but then the blooms a*e arriving at the higher elevations and valley dwellers need drive only a short distance to prolong their spring.

The panorama of flower color lasts till late fall, but even in winter vegetation gives the landscape sharp accents: dried brown leaves, and brilliant red and yellow stems and tree trunks stand out against the desert sands and mountain snow.

ANIMAL LIFE

Although fossils have been found in Nevada since the 1870*8, very little orderly paleontological exploration has been carried on. The first field worked was the Eureka (see Tour 7), midway between the Lake Lahontan and Lake Bonneville basins, at an elevation of six thousand feet This region is still exceptionally rich in specimens after having , produced more than five hundred identified species from Cambrian,

Devonian, and Carboniferous rocks, and many previously unknown forms, principally mollusks and fresh-water shells. Some of the spec-  imens are probably twenty-five million yeais old.

In the Virgin Valley (see Tour i), a semiarid and practically tree-  less region of northwestern Nevada, the remains of many extinct mammals were discovered early in 1900, including those of two types of horses, two cameloids, a mastodon, a laige cat, and fragmentary remains that weie probably those of a rhinoceros. These specimens were found in three formations. In the upper and lower deposits faunal re-  mains are common, and in the middle one large petrified logs, stems, and leaves aie abundant.

From the McKnight ranch (see Tour i), forty miles northeast of Elko at the head of the North Fork of the Humboldt River, fragments of footbones, teeth, and cheekbones of indeterminate camels, and the remains of a horse have been recovered, besides a number of reptilian specimens.

The largest fossiliferous area in Nevada is the Esmerelda Field in the middle western counties, where mammalian remains were buried in shore deposits bordering former fresh-water lakes. In the Cedar Mountain beds southeast of Walker Lake a slab discovered in 1913 contained t'ie scattered parts of a type of anchiterium horse, besides remains of ot'ier mammals and of plants, mollusks, and fishes. From Stewart and lone valleys, in this same formation, fossil plants, fish, and fresh-water mollusks have been obtained, and at Black Springs near the line between EsmeraJda and Nye counties important finds have been made. Fifty miles south of Mina (see Tour 5) remains similar to those at Cedar Mountain have been discovered. It was here that two of the three fossil hedgehogs discovered in the United States were found, be-  sides more of the cameloid type than in all other groups combined.

Fragmentary fossil remains of the rhinoceros, mastodon, and nu-  merous fresh-water mollusks were taken from the Truckee beds in 1914- These beds (see Tour i), which are of the Miocene period, lie in the Kawich Mountains and in the Virginia Range northeast of Reno.

Excavations made for railroad construction uncovered mammalian re-  mains at Astor Pass (see Tour i), near Pyramid Lake, in a gravel de-  posit evidently formed along the shore of Lake Lahontan. They con-  sisted of a horse skull, several other large skulls, large leg bones, and other fragmentary remains of an elephant, a bison, and a camel. The evidence indicated that the animals lived and died alone the shore

of the lake and were buried in its sediments. A spearhead was found among the bones of the mastodon.

On Prison Hill in Eagle Valley near Carson City are the best ex-  amples of fossil footprints yet found in the West Among them are mammoth tracks measuring twenty-two inches at the greatest diameter and two to six inches deep. There are several other series of tracks, resembling huge human footprints, from eighteen to twenty inches long and six to eight or nine inches wide. The largest group in this series consists of twenty-four tracks, imprints of the giant sloth. Other series containing fossil remains of an early horse, a mammoth, a mastodon, a ground sloth as large as a rhinoceros, lions, tigers of huge proportions, and birds, were unearthed at depths of twenty to twenty-five feet. Footprints of large four-toed birds, the long toe five or more inches in length, were also found.

The numerous caves of the State have revealed material of paleon- tological interest, of which the finds in Gypsum Cave are notable (see First Nevadans).

Few of the recovered materials have been letained in Nevada, though some are in the State Historical Society Museum in Reno and others in the museum of the University of Nevada.

Notwithstanding the aridity of parts of present-day Nevada and the scarcity of vegetation in some sections, there is still a suiprisingly wide variety of animal life. Through protection and encouragement, includ-  ing the establishment of bird and animal refuges, wild life is probably more abundant today than when white men first entered the region.

Although the State has provided for the establishment of twenty-five game refuges, only eighteen have so far been set aside; these are particu-  larly for antelope, deer, sage grouse, quail, and pheasant. There are also five Federal refuges—the Charles Sheldon Antelope Refuge in the northern part of Washoe County and the northwestern part of Hum- boldt County; the Anaho Island Refuge for pelicans in Pyramid Lake; the Railroad Valley Bird Refuge in the southeastern corner of Nje County, for which water has been provided through artesian wells; the Ruby Lakes Migratory Game Refuge in Ruby Valley; and the Desert Wildlife Refuge for Nelson big-horn sheep in the Sheep Mountains of Clark County.

Of all Nevada animals none is of gi eater interest than the pronghorn antelope, the only species of antelope indigenous to North America. Large numbers of pronghorn roamed the continent as late as fifty years ago, but today less than thirty thousand are in the United States. The largest

protected herds—about ten thousand animals in all—are on the table-  lands of the Charles Sheldon Antelope Reserve (see Tour 3), and in the national forests of the eastern part of White Pine County. The pronghorn is found in small numbers in about nine other areas of Nevada.

The mule deer, roaming through all mountain forests of Nevada, is a long-eared species and the largest member of the deer family in the West. There are no native Nevada elk, though since 1932 two car-  loads that were shipped in and turned loose on a reserve in the eastern part of White Pine County have increased considerably in numbers.

Several thousand wild horses wander over central and northern Nevada, the biggest herds in the fertile, well watered section south of Eureka. In order to conserve forage for cattle, the wild herds are gradually being rounded up and killed or sold.

Fur-bearing animals are not numerous, though the western badger is found in all heavy sage-covered areas, and beaver on the Humboldt River in such numbers that an open season was declared in 1935—the first in many years. The small spotted skunk is seen in all parts of the State, the Great Basin spotted skunk occasionally in the mountains and along creek bottoms, and the ordinary spotted skunk in the Ruby Moun-  tains alone. A few red fox live in the Sierra and the eastern part of the State, the American mink in western Nevada—particularly along the east and west forks of the Walker and Carson rivers—and along the creeks in the north central part of the State, the Nevada muskrat in considerable numbers in the streams and lakes, a few mountain weasel in the moist timber areas, the Great Basin coyote in the Sierra Nevada, and the desert coyote all over the State. The Nevada cacomixle, a raccoon, is seen in Eldorado Canyon, Clark County, porcupine live in the timbered areas, marmot, pika, the wandering shrew, and numerous species of rats, mice, chipmunks, gophers, squirrels, rabbits, hare, bats are everywhere, and bobcats are in the intermediate mountain ranges and ledgy country.

The Great Basin—and particularly Nevada—is one of th« last larg« areas of the United States where the bird life has been little studied. In general the same factors that tend to restrict the human and animal population also keep the bird population relatively small. The most ex-  tensive summary of birds observed in Nevada was compiled by Jean M. Linsdale and published by the Cooper Ornithological Club of Berkeley, California, in February 1936. This list, which gives three hundred and thirty-eight species that have been identified, is considered far from complete.

One of the most interesting of game birds is the sage hen, officially called the sage grouse, which is indigenous. Although belonging to the grouse family, it stands alone in both genus and specie. It formerly ranged over much of the State, but its habitat is now confined to the northern section, and its existence is threatened because it has been ruthlessly hunted. As it will not breed in captivity, its propagation cannot be aided. The pallid grouse lives in the northeastern section and the dusky grouse along the western border; neither is numerous. The big blue grouse and the smaller willow grouse are fairly plentiful in the big timber of Elko County.

The pheasant, imported and bred to stock the State, is becoming sufficiently numerous to be hunted in Washoe, Churchill, Douglas, and Lyon counties. There are several species of quail, of which the valley quail, also an imported bird, is well established in many parts of the State. Mountain quail are found in the western ranges but are scarce. The Gambel quail is common in the southern counties. Propagation of the chukar partridge, which thrives in a wide range of temperatures, is being tried out in Nye County; Hungarian partridge are migrating from Oregon into Humboldt and Washoe counties. This bird, which is twice the size of the California quail, may replace the sage hen. Other game birds are duck, geese, plover, ibis, rail, brant, snipe, and swan.

Birds that are protected include the white pelican, which breeds by thousands on Anaho Island in Pyramid Lake and is found at times at Walker Lake, Topaz Lake, and along the Humboldt River and Willow Creek. Both the golden eagle and the southern bald eagle—the American eagle—are found in Nevada, and prairie falcon, many species of hawk, the turkey vulture, cormorant, heron, crow, raven, and magpie are numerous. Of the many species of duck, some remain in the State throughout the year, and breed wherever there is water.

Common birds are the horned lark, jay, swallow, lark, wren, mockingbird, robin, thrasher, thrush, flycatcher, bluebird, nuthatches, chica- dees, warblers, vireos, blackbirds, western meadowlarks, orioles, grosbeaks, finches, sparrows, and buntings; flickers, kingbirds, owls, sandpipers, stilts, terns, gulls, avocets, and snowy egrets; herons, cranes, rails, phoebes, swifts, juncos, cowbirds, gnatcatchers, shrikes, and tow- hees and in Lincoln, Esmeralda, and Clark counties, the road runner. Several species of humming birds are found all over the State. There are seventy-eight species of birds in the Charleston Mountain

region (see Tour 5), but the range of most is more or less limited by temperatures and other barriers. Four new sub-species were found in this region—the southern Nevada jay, the Nevada pigmy nuthatch, the Nevada creeper, and the Nevada junco.

Many of the streams and lakes of Nevada teem with fish. In Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California line in the Sierra are the Mackinaw trout, which weigh as much as thirty pounds, and the silver trout, weighing up to fifteen pounds. The Mackinaw trout, the State's single deep water fish, can be caught only by trolling. The Truckee River, flowing out of Lake Tahoe, abounds with rainbow; and Pyramid Lake, into which the Truckee empties, is inhabited by the cutthroat, also called the black-spotted, the largest trout species known. The cutthroat of Pyramid Lake is a species of land-locked salmon, now becoming rare because of uncontrolled fishing and a lowering of the water level. Though the average weight of the cutthroat is from twenty-five to thirty pounds, the largest of record weighed sixty-five pounds and the smallest one and one-half. Cui-ui and carp are plentiful. In Topaz Lake, also on the Nevada-California line, are black-spotted, lake, and Loch- Leven trout In Walker Lake the Walker Lake bass, also known as the crappie, is the most popular game fish. Carp abound there also.

Within easy reach of Reno are some thirty fishable streams, and in Elko County alone there are twenty-eight hundred miles of stream water in which rainbow and brook trout are numerous. The abundant red suckers are not popular as food fish because of their boniness. Sun- fish—a kind of mudfish found in the swampy country of White Pine County—whitefish, and catfish also abound. In the northern part of Nevada, in the Owyhee and Salmon rivers, and in Goose Creek, flowing north into the Columbia River, are the steelhead and Pacific Ocean salmon.

Much is being done to propagate and conserve the fish supply. Close to Reno are trout hatcheries, at Galena Creek, Verdi, and Idlewild Park, from which fresh stock is annually planted in the streams of the central and northern counties. The Duck Creek hatching ponds, northeast of Ely, supply the streams of the Schell Creek and Egan ranges, and there are five black-bass spawning ponds at Las Vegas to supply stock for Lake Mead and the Colorado River.

Fresh-water shrimp abound in the irrigation ditches and fishponds of some parts of the State to the extent that it is sometimes necessary to drain and scrape the ditches. Fresh-water mussels are found in the rivers Vnd fresh-water lakes, and snails in moist cultivated areas.

Of the four classes of Nevada reptiles—snakes, lizards, turtles, and toads—the snakes are the most interesting though seldom encountered. The rattler, of which there are three distinct species in the State, and a variable number of so-called sub-species, is the commonest of the poisonous varieties. The most deadly rattler is the rare western diamondback, which usually attains a length of six feet and a weight of about fifteen pounds; it is beautifully marked with symmetrical black rhombs on a gray background and has a whitish to blue belly and a tail with black and white rings. When frightened it quickly throws its body into a coil, sounds the rattles, and then strikes. Essentially a southern snake, it lives in the ledgy canyons along the Colorado River,

The horned rattlesnake or sidewinder, another deadly species, is also of interest. This desert species, small in size and pallid in hue, is found only south of Goldfidd along the edge of Death Valley. A large scale over each eye is developed into an upright horn. The sidewinder grows to a length of about eighteen inches; when moving it carries two-thirds of its length on the ground and the other third at an oblique angle to its line of direction. It progresses by lateral forward undulations of the body, and instead of coiling to strike as does the diamondback, it whips from side to side.

Other species include the Panamint rattler, a pallid desert form that is gray, tan, pinkish, or distinctly red, and the Great Basin rattler, which has dorsal blotches of typical form but small and faded in colon Both species are found all over th« State. The prairie rattler inhabits central Nevada, the Pacific rattlesnake the northern and western sections, and the tiger rattlesnake the desert mountains.

The valley gopher snake is in the Sierra Nevada and the desert gopher snake in western Nevada; the silver or Pacific rubber snake, also called the two-headed snake, in northern and western Nevada; the striped whip snake in western Nevada; the western striped racer throughout the State; the red racer, the western yellow-bellied racer, the blind snake, the coral snake, Graham's flatnosed snake, the western patch-nosed snake, and Boyle's king snake, in the southern part. Several varieties of garter snake are widely distributed, including the spotted night, the bull, the red and black ground snake, and the yellow gopher.

Lizards, found everywhere, are of two families, one scaly and the other smooth skinned. The Gila lizards of the Virgin River Valley near the Colorado are a sub-species; the bite of this surly creature is venomous but not fatal. Turtles include the western pond species and the desert tortoise of

the Pahrump Valley. Toads include Girard's short-horned and desert- horned species, found throughout, and the pigmy horned toad, found only in Elko County.

Insects are plentiful but none is of greater interest than the insectlike spiders, including the tarantula. This large, venomous, hairy creature lives in all the hot dry deserts of Nevada.