California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. Nicknamed The Golden State, it is the most populous and third-largest state by land area, after Alaska and Texas.

California's diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast to the west, to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the east, to the Mojave Desert areas in the southeast and to the Redwood–Douglas-fir forests of the northwest.

Its five largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Fresno.

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Nevada i/n??v?d?/ is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of 110,561 square miles (286,350 km2) and a population of about 2.7 million, is the largest landlocked U.S. state that does not border Canada or Mexico, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area,[5] which contains its three largest incorporated cities.[6] Nevada's capital is Carson City.

Nevada is largely desert and semiarid, with much of it located within the Great Basin. Areas south of the Great Basin are located within the Mojave Desert, while Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains lie on the western edge. Approximately 86% of the state's land is owned by the US government under various jurisdictions, both civilian and military.[7]

The name Nevada is derived from the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, which means snow-capped mountain range in Spanish. The land comprising the modern state was inhabited by Native Americans of the Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe tribes prior to European contact.[8] It was subsequently claimed by Spain as a part of Alta California until the Mexican War of Independence brought it under Mexican control. The United States gained the territory in 1848 following its victory in the Mexican-American War and the area was eventually incorporated as part of Utah Territory in 1850. The discovery of silver at the Comstock Lode in 1859 led to a population boom that was an impetus to the creation of Nevada Territory out of western Utah Territory in 1861. Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864.[9]

The establishment of legalized gambling and lenient marriage and divorce proceedings in the 20th century transformed Nevada into a major tourist destination.[10][11] The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer,[12] with mining continuing to be a substantial sector of the economy as Nevada is the fourth largest producer of gold in the world.[13]

Nevada is officially known as the Silver State due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. It is also known as the Battle Born State because it achieved statehood during the Civil War and the Sagebrush State for the native eponymous plant.

In 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a barren desert began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:

Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... after easy divorce came easy marriage and casino gaming. Even prostitution is legal in Nevada, in any county that decides to allow it. Quite a few of them do.[43] With the advent of air conditioning for summertime use and Southern Nevada's mild winters, the fortunes of the state began to turn around, as it did for Arizona, making these two states the fastest growing in the Union.

[edit] Prostitution laws

See also: Prostitution in Nevada

Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal (under the form of licensed brothels).

Prostitution is specifically illegal by state law in the state's larger jurisdictions, which include Clark County (which contains Las Vegas), Washoe County (which contains Reno), and the independent city of Carson City. Otherwise, it is legal in those counties which specifically vote to permit it.

[edit] Divorce laws

Nevada's early reputation as a divorce haven arose from the fact that, prior to the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gaming and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation. This resulted in Williams v. North Carolina, 317 U.S. 287 (1942), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that North Carolina had to give full faith and credit to a Nevada divorce.

Nevada's divorce rate tops the national average.[44]