Reno, Nevada

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Reno
—  City  —
Reno Arch

Flag
Nickname(s): The Biggest Little City in the World
Motto: 39° 31′ 37.6″ N, 119° 49′ 18.52″ W
Location of Reno, Nevada in Washoe County
Reno is located in Nevada
Reno
Location in Nevada
Coordinates: 39°31′38″N 119°49′19″W / 39.52722°N 119.82194°W / 39.52722; -119.82194Coordinates: 39°31′38″N 119°49′19″W / 39.52722°N 119.82194°W / 39.52722; -119.82194
Country United States
State Nevada
County Washoe
Government
 - Mayor Bob Cashell (R)
Area
 - City 69.3 sq mi (179.6 km2)
 - Land 69.1 sq mi (179.0 km2)
 - Water 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation 4,505 ft (1,373 m)
Population (2009)[1]
 - City 220,598
 - Density 2,611.4/sq mi (1,008.3/km2)
 - Metro 420,000
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 89500-89599
Area code(s) 775
FIPS code 32-60600
GNIS feature ID 0861100
Website http://cityofreno.com/

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 [2] and is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas. It sits in a high desert valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada.

Reno, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", is famous for its casinos, and is the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah's Entertainment. City residents are called "Reno-ites". Reno borders Sparks, a city of approximately 100,000 population. Most call the metropolitan area "Truckee Meadows"; the metropolitan area including Sparks and Reno has a combined population of about 420,000.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

See also: List of Registered Historic Places in Washoe County, Nevada

Archaeological finds place the eastern border for the prehistoric Martis people in the Reno area.[4]

As early as the 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 a bit of business from travelers along the California Trail, which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off towards Donner Lake, where the formidable obstacle of the Sierras began.

Gold had been discovered in the vicinity of Virginia City in 1850 and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of silver in 1859 led to one of the greatest mining bonanzas of all time as the Comstock Lode spewed forth treasure. The Comstock's closest connection to the outside world lay in the Truckee Meadows.

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 to service travelers soon grew up near the bridge. After two years, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron C. Lake, who continued to develop the community with the addition of a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house. He renamed it Lake's Crossing. In 1864, Washoe County was consolidated with Roop County; Lake's Crossing became the largest town in the county. Lake had earned himself the title "founder of Reno."[5]

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, realizing what a rail connection would mean for business, deeded land to the CPRR in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lake's Crossing. Once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 9, 1868.[6] CPRR construction superintendent Charles Crocker named the community after Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the American Civil War at the Battle of South Mountain.

In 1871 Reno became the county seat of the newly expanded Washoe County, replacing the previous county seat, located in Washoe City. However, political power in Nevada remained with the mining communities, first Virginia City and later Tonopah and Goldfield.

The extension of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to Reno in 1872 provided another big boost to the new city's economy. At first citizens viewed the changes as an omen, however in the following decades, Reno continued to grow and prosper as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and Salt Lake City.

Downtown Reno.

As the mining boom waned early in the twentieth century, Nevada's centers of political and business activity shifted to the non-mining communities, especially Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and today the former mining metropolises stand as little more than ghost towns. Despite this, Nevada is still the third-largest gold producer in the world, after South Africa and Australia; the state yielded 6.9 percent of the world's supply in 2005 world gold production.[7]

The famous "Reno Arch" was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927, the arch included the words "Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition" and the dates of the exposition. After the exposition, the Reno City Council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, and Mayor E.E. Roberts asked the citizens of Reno to suggest a slogan for the arch. No acceptable slogan was received until a $100 prize was offered, and G.A. Burns of Sacramento was declared the winner on March 14, 1929 with "Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World".

Nevada's legalization of casino gambling in 1931 and the passage of liberal divorce laws created another boom for Reno. Ernie Pyle once wrote in one of his columns "All the people you saw on the streets in Reno were obviously there to get divorces." In Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, published in 1943, the New-York-based female protagonist tells a friend "I am going to Reno," which is taken as a different way of saying "I am going to divorce my husband." Among others, the Belgian-French writer Georges Simenon, at the time living in the US, came to Reno in 1949 in order to divorce his first wife.

The divorce business eventually died as the other states fell in line by passing their own laws easing the requirements for divorce, but gambling continued as a major Reno industry. Beginning in the 1950s, the need for economic diversification beyond gaming fueled a movement for more lenient business taxation.

The presence of a main east-west rail line, the emerging interstate highway system, favorable tax climate and relatively inexpensive land created the ideal conditions for warehousing and distribution of goods to the growing population in the surrounding eleven western states.

Reno has experienced a growing economy which has resulted in new home construction around the metro area. A direct result of this growth and the "housing bubble" has been a dramatic increase in housing prices in the area, Reno-Sparks being named the 44th most overvalued housing market in the nation in 2006.[8] As of January 2007 Reno’s housing market has fallen by 7% bringing the median home price down to $315,000.[9]

In more recent years, the city has gained some fame as it is the subject of the popular comedy series Reno 911! (which is not, however, filmed in the city).

[edit] Geography

[edit] Geology

For more details on this topic, see Reno earthquakes of 2008.

Reno is situated just east of the Sierra Nevada on the western edge of the Great Basin at an elevation of about 4,400 feet (1,300 m) above sea level. Numerous faults exist throughout the region. Most of these are normal (vertical motion) faults associated with the uplift of the various mountain ranges, including the Sierras.

In February 2008, an unusual earthquake swarm began to occur with some quakes registering between 4 and 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. The earthquakes were centered in an unnamed fault zone in the western suburbs of Reno in the area of Mogul and Verdi. Many homes in these areas were damaged.[10]

[edit] Climate

Reno sits in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Annual rainfall averages 7.48 inches (190 mm). Despite this low amount of rainfall per year, Reno features a steppe climate due to its low evapotranspiration. Annual precipitation has ranged from 1.55 inches (39.4 mm) in 1947 to 13.23 inches (336.0 mm) in 1983. The most precipitation in one month was 5.25 inches (133.4 mm) in December 1955 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was 2.29 inches (58.2 mm) on January 21, 1943. Winter has snowfall which is usually heavy but can be really light some days, averaging 23.8 inches (60 cm) annually. The most snowfall in one year was 63.8 inches (162 cm) in 1971 and the most snowfall in one month was 29.0 inches (74 cm) in March 1952. Most rainfall occurs in winter and spring. The city has 300 days of sunshine per year.[11]

Summer highs are generally in the low to mid 90s °F (32-36 °C), but temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) occur occasionally. The July high daytime temperature peaks at an averages 93 °F (33.9 °C); the night low 52 °F (11.1 °C); while January high daytime temperatures average 45 °F (7.2 °C) and low night temperatures average 21 °F (−6.1 °C). The record high temperature was 108 °F (42 °C) on July 10 and 11, 2002. The record low temperature was −19 °F (−28 °C) on January 8, 1890.[12] In addition, the region is frequently windy throughout the year; observers such as Mark Twain have commented about the "Washoe Zephyr", northwestern Nevada's distinctive wind.


Climate data for Reno, Nevada
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 45.5
(7.5)		 51.7
(10.94)		 57.2
(14)		 64.1
(17.83)		 72.6
(22.56)		 82.8
(28.22)		 91.2
(32.89)		 89.9
(32.17)		 81.7
(27.61)		 69.9
(21.06)		 55.3
(12.94)		 46.4
(8)		 67.4
(19.67)
Average low °F (°C) 21.8
(-5.67)		 25.4
(-3.67)		 29.3
(-1.5)		 33.2
(0.67)		 40.2
(4.56)		 46.5
(8.06)		 51.4
(10.78)		 49.9
(9.94)		 43.1
(6.17)		 34
(1.1)		 26.4
(-3.11)		 20.7
(-6.28)		 35.2
(1.78)
Precipitation inches (mm) 1.06
(26.9)		 1.06
(26.9)		 0.86
(21.8)		 0.35
(8.9)		 0.62
(15.7)		 0.47
(11.9)		 0.24
(6.1)		 0.27
(6.9)		 0.45
(11.4)		 0.42
(10.7)		 0.80
(20.3)		 0.88
(22.4)		 7.48
(190)
Snowfall inches (cm) 4.9
(12.4)		 5.4
(13.7)		 3.3
(8.4)		 0.9
(2.3)		 0.7
(1.8)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.5
(1.3)		 3.1
(7.9)		 4.4
(11.2)		 23.3
(59.2)
Avg. precipitation days 6.9 7 6.8 3.9 4.3 3.6 2 2.1 3.3 3.3 5 5.4 53.6
Avg. snowy days 4.3 3.5 3.2 1.4 0.6 0 0 0 0 0.4 1.8 3.3 18.5
Sunshine hours 195.3 206.2 291.4 333 375.1 393 424.7 390.6 345 294.5 213 186 3,647.8
Source: NOAA (normals, 1971-2000),[13] HKO [14]

[edit] Government

Reno has a basic democratic municipal government. The city council is the core of the government, with seven members. Five of these council people represent districts of Reno, and are vetted in the primary by the citizens of each district.

In general, the top two vote earners in each ward make the ballot for the city-wide election. This is an unusual but highly effective system.

The other two members are the at-large, who represent the entire city, and the mayor, who is elected by the people of the city. The council has several duties, including setting priorities for the city, promoting communication with the public, planning development, and redevelopment.

There is also an elected city attorney who is responsible for civil and criminal cases. The City Attorney represents the city government in court, and prosecutes misdemeanors as well.

The City's charter calls for a council-manager form of government, meaning that the Council appoints only two positions, the city manager, who implements and enforces the policies and programs the council approves, and the city clerk.

The city manager in charge of the budget and workforce for all City programs. The city clerk, who records the proceedings of the council, makes appointments for the council, and makes sure efficient copying and printing services are available.

[edit] Education

[edit] Universities and colleges

An older picture showing part of the University of Nevada, Reno campus in the foreground

[edit] Public schools

Public education is provided by the Washoe County School District.

[edit] Public charter schools

Reno has many charter schools, which include: Academy for Career Education, serving grades 10-12, opened 2002.[16] Bailey Charter Elementary School, serving grades K-6, opened 2001.[17] Coral Academy of Science, serving grades K-12, opened 2000.[18] Davidson Academy, serving grades 9-12, opened 2006.[19] High Desert Montessori School, serving grades PreK-7, opened 2002. I Can Do Anything Charter School, serving grades 9-12, opened 2000.[20] Rainshadow Community Charter High School, serving grades 9-12, opened 2003.[21] Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School, serving grades PreK-8, opened 1999. TEAM A (Together Everyone Achieves More Academy), serving grades 9-12, opened 2004.[22]

[edit] Private schools

Reno has a few private elementary schools such as Legacy Christian School, Excel Christian School, and Lamplight Christian School[23] as well as private high schools, the largest of which are Bishop Manogue High School[24] and Sage Ridge School (SRS).[25]

[edit] Libraries

Washoe County Library System has locations throughout Reno and its surrounding communities.

[edit] Economy

Downtown Reno, including the city's famous arch over Virginia Street at night.

Before the late 1950s, Reno was the gambling capital of the United States, but in the last twenty years Las Vegas' rapid growth, American Airlines' 2000 buyout of Reno Air and the growth of Indian gambling gaming in California have somewhat reduced its business. Older casinos were either torn down (Mapes Hotel, Fitzgerald's Nevada Club, Primadonna, Horseshoe Club, Harold's Club, Palace Club) and smaller casinos like the Comstock, Sundowner, Golden Phoenix, Kings Inn, Money Tree, Virginian, and Riverboat closed, and some converted to condos.

Because of geographical proximity, Reno has traditionally drawn the majority of its California tourists and gamblers from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, while Las Vegas has historically served more tourists from Los Angeles, San Diego, and other parts of Southern California, and the Phoenix area.

Reno casinos experience some slow days during the week, especially during winter, when mountain passes can be closed to some traffic from Northern California. The train service from California and the airline service is almost never interrupted. During weekends, holidays and special events Reno does see an increase in business. Large special events such as Hot August Nights and The Great Reno Balloon Race pack the area hotels to 100% occupancy.[citation needed]

Several local large hotel casinos have shown significant growth and have moved gaming further away from the Virginia Street core. These larger hotel casinos are the Atlantis, the Peppermill and the Grand Sierra Resort. The Peppermill was chosen as the most outstanding Reno gaming/hotel property by Casino Player and Nevada magazines. In 2005, the Peppermill Hotel Casino began a $300 million dollar Tuscan-themed expansion.

In an effort to bring more tourism to the area, Reno holds several events throughout the year, most of which have been extremely successful. They include Hot August Nights[26] (a classic car convention), Street Vibrations (a motorcycle fan gathering and rally), The Great Reno Balloon Race, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off (held in Sparks), a Cinco de Mayo celebration, bowling tournaments (held in the National Bowling Stadium), and the Reno Air Races.

Several large commercial developments were constructed during the mid-2000s boom, such as The Summit in 2007 and Legends at Sparks Marina in 2008.

Reno is the location of the corporate headquarters for numerous companies, including Braeburn Capital, Hamilton, Port of Subs, PC-Doctor, and International Game Technology, which manufactures slot machines. Bally Technologies and GameTech also have development and manufacturing presence in Reno.

[edit] Downtown revitalization

The closure of many downtown casinos has sparked a movement to turn them into condominiums. Out-of-state developers have purchased the Comstock and the Sundowner, amongst others, in hopes of turning them into upscale condos. In addition to converting old properties, these developers are building new structures on formerly-vacant lots. The Comstock was redeveloped and is now home to The Residences at Riverwalk Towers.

The Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor (ReTRAC) was undertaken to solve noise pollution and traffic congestion on Virginia Street by lowering the train tracks below street level.[27] This has also added to the city's efforts to make the downtown area friendlier to tourists. The trench was listed as completed on November 22, 2005. In 2008, the city council approved spending on creating a trench cover between Virginia Street and West Street essentially creating a two-block tunnel. This cover is slated to become a plaza with proposed retail and art fixtures.

[edit] Nightlife

Circus Circus Reno.jpg

Reno has recently seen the opening of many businesses that cater to socializing and after-work activities, as new and old Reno locals have slowly reclaimed parts of downtown from the waning glut of casino-bound tourists of yore. Many bars and nightclubs have moved into the area on West 1st and 2nd Streets between Arlington and Sierra in downtown Reno. In addition, various downtown casinos host lounges and nightclubs.

Downtown Reno is Reno's most popular area for bars and clubs. However, there are a few other hotspots including East Fourth Street, Wells Avenue, the UNR area, Kietzke Lane, and all along South Virginia St. Most neighborhoods also have their local bars, sports bars, or breweries, primarily in strip malls.[citation needed]

The casinos, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Brüka Theatre, La Bussola, Sierra Arts, and the Reno Events Center also provide numerous concerts, art events, plays, and shows as well.[citation needed]

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1870 1,035
—
1880 1,362 31.6%
1890 3,563 161.6%
1900 4,500 26.3%
1910 10,867 141.5%
1920 12,016 10.6%
1930 18,529 54.2%
1940 21,317 15.0%
1950 32,497 52.4%
1960 51,470 58.4%
1970 72,863 41.6%
1980 100,756 38.3%
1990 133,850 32.8%
2000 180,480 34.8%
Est. 2008 217,016 20.2%
source:[1][28]

As of the census[29] of 2000, there were 180,480 people, 73,904 households, and 41,681 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,008.3/sq mi (2,611.4/km²). There were 79,453 housing units at an average density of 1,149.6/sq mi (443.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.46% White, 2.58% African American, 1.26% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.56% Pacific Islander, 9.26% from other races, and 3.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.18% of the population.

There were 73,904 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,530, and the median income for a family was $49,582. Males had a median income of $33,204 versus $26,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,520. About 8.3% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

[30] The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2008, its population was estimated at 217,016, making it the fourth-largest city in the state after Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, and the largest outside of Clark County.[1] Reno lies 26 mi (42 km) north of the Nevada state capital, Carson City, and 22 mi (35 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe in a shrub-steppe. Reno shares its eastern border with the city of Sparks and is the larger of the principal cities of the Reno-Sparks, Nevada Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a metropolitan area that covers Storey and Washoe counties.[31] The MSA had a combined population of 342,885 at the 2000 census.[29] The MSA is combined with the Fernley Micropolitan Statistical Area to form the Reno-Sparks-Fernley Combined Statistical Area,[32] which had a total population of 377,386 at the 2000 census.[29]

[edit] Transportation

See also: Reno (Amtrak station)
See also: Reno/Tahoe International Airport
Reno Skyline
A 6-lane freeway passing under a series of underpasses
I-80 in Downtown Reno

The course of the Truckee River runs through Reno, as does the Union Pacific Railroad, Interstate 80 (east-west) and US 395 (north-south).

Reno has an extensive bus system called RTC RIDE[33] (formerly known as Citifare), which is provided by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County. The bus system has its main terminal in downtown Reno and secondary terminals in Sparks and at Meadowood Mall in south Reno. The RTC also has a service called RTC ACCESS[34] (formerly known as CitiLift) that provides transport for disabled people. RTC INTERCITY[35] (formerly known as PRIDE) buses link Reno and Carson City.

The RTC also provides a free bus service up and down Virginia Street in Reno called RTC SIERRA SPIRIT, which many locals refer to as "the Pinwheel bus" due to the pinwheel design on the bright yellow buses and at bus stops. This regular service is free of charge.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Reno. The city's passenger rail station is located at 280 North Center Street, East Commercial Row in downtown Reno. Amtrak train 5, the westbound California Zephyr, is scheduled to depart Reno at 12:03 pm daily and provides service to the cities of Truckee, Colfax, Roseville, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, and Emeryville, across the bay from San Francisco. Amtrak train 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, is scheduled to depart Reno at 2:11 pm daily and provides service to Sparks, Winnemucca, Elko, Salt Lake City, Provo, Helper, Green River, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Denver, Omaha, Galesburg, and Chicago. Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoaches also arrive and depart Reno four times daily in each direction connecting to and from the Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, and San Joaquin trains at Sacramento, California.

The city is served by Reno/Tahoe International Airport, with general aviation traffic also handled by Reno Stead Airport. Reno/Tahoe International Airport is the second busiest commercial airport in the state of Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

[edit] Utilities

Potable water for the City of Reno is provided by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. The Truckee River is the primary water source, with the purification being done at two plants, Chalk Bluff and Glendale. The Chalk Bluff plant main intakes are west of Reno in Verdi, with the water flowing through a series of flumes and ditches to the plant itself. Alternative intakes are located below the plant along the banks of the Truckee River itself. The Glendale plant is sited alongside the river, and is fed by a rock and concrete rubble diversion dam a short distance upstream.[36]

Sewage treatment for the majority of the Truckee Meadows takes place at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility at the eastern edge of the valley. Treated effluent returns to the Truckee River by way of Steamboat Creek.[37]

Electrical power and natural gas are provided by NV Energy, formerly Sierra Pacific. Power comes from multiple sources, including Tracy-Clark Station to the east, and the Steamboat Springs binary cycle power plants at the southern end of town.

[edit] Named for Reno

Named for Reno was the U.S. Navy's light cruiser the USS Reno which served in the War in the Pacific during 1944 - 45. The Reno was an Atlanta-class light cruiser designed especially for antiaircraft warfare, and armed with 12 five-inch dual-purpose guns and numerous smaller 40 millimeter and 20 millimeter rapid-fire cannons. The Reno was commissioned in very late December 1943, in time to see much action in the Pacific. She was decommissioned in November 1946 and put into storage, but there never was a need to bring the Reno back into service.

[edit] Sports

Reno Events Center

Reno is home to the Reno Aces, a minor league baseball Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and plays in Aces Ballpark, a downtown ballpark opened in 2009. Reno has hosted multiple professional baseball teams in the past, most under the Reno Silver Sox name. The Reno Astros, a semi-pro unaffiliated baseball team plays at Moana Stadium.

In professional basketball, the Reno Bighorns, a 2008 expansion of the NBA Development League, plays at the Reno Events Center.[38]

Reno is expected to be the future home of an ECHL ice hockey team, currently named the Reno Raiders, but construction on a suitable arena has yet to begin as of the 2009-2010 season. The franchise has been dormant since 1998, when it was named the Reno Rage, and earlier the Reno Renegades, and played in the now defunct West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).

The Reno-Tahoe Open is northern Nevada’s only PGA TOUR event, held at Montrêux Golf & Country Club in Reno. As part of the FedEx Cup, the tournament follows 132 PGA TOUR professionals competing for a share of the event’s $3 million purse. The Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation has donated more than $1.8 Million to local charities.

Reno also enjoys a thriving college sports scene, with the Nevada Wolf Pack achieving appearances in football bowl games and an Associated Press Top Ten ranking in basketball in 2007.

In 2004, the city completed a $1.5 million whitewater park on the Truckee River in downtown Reno which attracts paddlers from all over the region and hosts whitewater events throughout the year. The course runs Class 2 and 3 rapids with safe and free, year-round public access. The 1,400-foot (430 m) north channel features more aggressive rapids, drop pools and "holes" for rodeo kayak-type maneuvers. The milder 1,200 ft (370 m) south channel is set up as a kayak slalom course and a beginner area.

The Reno area boasts 14 ski areas within two hours of the city.

Reno is also home to two roller derby teams, the Battle Born Derby Demons and the Reno Roller Girls.[39] The Battle Born Derby Demons compete on flat tracks locally and nationally. They are the only Derby team locally to compete in a national Derby league.

Reno is the home of the National Bowling Stadium, which hosts the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Open Championships every three years.

[edit] Recreation

Winter Ski slopes overlooking Lake Tahoe

Reno is home to a variety of recreation activities including both seasonal and year-round. In the summer, Reno locals can be found near three major bodies of water: Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, and Pyramid Lake. Lake Tahoe, which splits the border between California and Nevada, provides visitors and locals with opportunities to fish, water-ski and wakeboard, parasail, jet-ski, and of course swim. The Truckee River runs from Lake Tahoe through the center of downtown Reno and up to Pyramid Lake. After receiving city funding, the Truckee River now draws kayakers from all over the United States. The river is also a major part of Artown, held in the summer at Wingfield Park, where locals and visitors come to swim, inner-tube, raft and enjoy local Reno culture. Washoe Lake is also a popular kite and windsurf location because of its high wind speeds during the summer.

Skiing and snowboarding are among the most popular winter sports and draw in many tourists. There are 18 ski resorts[40] (8 major resorts), including Northstar-at-Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley Ski Resort, Sugar Bowl, Diamond Peak, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and Mount Rose Ski Resort located as close as eleven miles (18 km) and as far as ninety-eight miles from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Other popular winter activities include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, and snowmobiling.

[edit] 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Main article: 2022 Winter Olympics

The resort region around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada borders have formed the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition to make a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. They cited the airport, close mountains, and compact geographic area in which the games could be held. Squaw Valley Ski Resort, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, is considered a major advantage to the bid.[41]

[edit] Environmental factors

View of Lake Tahoe from a Diamond Peak ski lift

The Reno-Sparks wastewater treatment plant discharges tertiary treated effluent to the Truckee River. In the 1990s this capacity was increased from 20 to 30 million gallons (70 to 110 million liters) per day. While treated, the effluent nevertheless contains suspended solids, nitrogen, and phosphorus, aggravating water quality concerns of the river and its receiving waters of Pyramid Lake. Local agencies working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have developed a number of watershed management strategies to accommodate this expanded effluent discharge; to accomplish this successful outcome, the DSSAM Model was developed and calibrated for the Truckee River in order to analyze the most cost effective available management strategy set.[42] The resulting management strategies included a package of measures such as land use controls in the Lake Tahoe basin, urban runoff controls in Reno and Sparks and best management practices for wastewater discharge.

Wetlands are an important part of the Reno/Tahoe area. They act as a natural filter for the solids that come out of the water treatment plant. Plant roots absorb nutrients from the water and naturally filter it. Wetlands are also a home for over 75% of the species in the Great Basin. However, the area's wetlands are at risk of being destroyed due to development around the city. While developers build on top of the wetlands they fill them with dirt destroying the habitat they create for the plants and animals. Washoe county has devised a plan that will help protect these important ecosystems: Mitigation. In the future, when developers try to build over a wetland, they will be responsible for creating another wetland near Washoe Lake.This area is much smaller than the wetlands destroyed.

The Truckee River serves as Reno's primary source of drinking water. It supplies Reno with 80,000,000 gallons of water a day during the summer, and 40,000,000 gallons of water per day in the winter. Before the water goes to the homes around the Reno area, it must go to one of two water treatment plants, Chalk Bluff or Glendale Water Treatment Plant. As an attempt to save water, golf courses in Reno, like Arrow Creek Golf Course, have been using treated effluent water instead of treated water from one of Reno's water plants.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] In pop culture

 This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. (September 2009)

Reno is a setting in various books, movies, songs and other works. In the first chapters of Anthony Horowitz's 2007 book Nightrise, two of the main characters, Jamie Tyler and Scott Tyler, perform at a theatre in Reno. Walter Van Tilburg Clark's autobiographical novel The City of Trembling Leaves has detailed descriptions of Reno, as well as nearby Lake Tahoe and the Mount Rose Wilderness in the 1920s. Author and musician Willy Vlautin, who was born and raised in Reno,[43] has recorded numerous songs with his band Richmond Fontaine and written two books (2006's The Motel Life and 2008's Northline) that take place in Reno.

On television, Reno is the setting of the Comedy Central show Reno 911!, although the show is not filmed there. (This is proven by numerous palm trees on the set, which are not present in real-life Reno.) In the game Fallout 2, the city of New Reno is built upon the remains of Reno.

[edit] Movies

Reno appears as the setting of a number of movies. The movie Kingpin takes place in Reno at the National Bowling Stadium. In the film Balls of Fury, Randy Daytona works at the Peppermill Casino in Reno as a dinner show entertainer and wears a Peppermill jacket throughout the movie. Several scenes from the movie Mafia! take place at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino, one of which is filmed in their penthouse suite.

In addition to movies that feature Reno as a setting, many movies have been filmed in Reno. For example, The Cooler with William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin was filmed in Reno at the now defunct Golden Phoenix Casino on Sierra Street, but within the movie the story takes place in Las Vegas. Movies filmed in Reno include:

[edit] In music

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2009)

[edit] Sister cities

Reno has six sister cities:[44]

Wanganui, New Zealand was a sister city from 1974 to 2009.[45]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reno, Nevada

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "7/1/2008 Subcounty Estimates File: Nevada 2000-2008" (CSV). United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2009-03-18. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/files/SUB-EST2008-32.csv. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  2. ^ U.S. Census information
  3. ^ "World Gazetteer: Reno - profile of geographical entity including name variants". http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&des=wg&geo=-3784&srt=pnan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&geo=466350018. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
  4. ^ Brauman, Sharon K. (2004-10-06). "North Fork petroglyphs". ucnrs.org. http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/CSFRS/petros.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-15. 
  5. ^ Guy Louis Rocha, "Reno's First Robber Baron," Nevada Magazine 40,2(March–April, 1980), p. 28.
  6. ^ Reno, Nevada travel guide from Wikitravel
  7. ^ ReviewJournal.com - News - Gold hits record high
  8. ^ "High-priced housing faces risks". USA Today. 2005-08-17. http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2005-08-17-housing-valuations.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  9. ^ rsr_2007.qxd
  10. ^ Ashley Powers; Thomas H. Maugh II. "Swarm of earthquakes shakes Reno area". Los Angeles Times. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/30/20080430renoquakes0430-ON.html. Retrieved 2008-08-27. 
  11. ^ "Reno, NV". http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/destination/reno. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  12. ^ National Weather Service website (www.weather.gov)
  13. ^ "Climatography of the United States No. 20 (1971–2000)" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2004. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/nv/266779.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-18. 
  14. ^ "Climatological Normals of Reno". Hong Kong Observatory. http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/n_america/us/Reno_e.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-18. 
  15. ^ TMCC High School
  16. ^ ACE High School
  17. ^ School Brief
  18. ^ Coral Academy of Science
  19. ^ Official Site
  20. ^ http://www.icdareno.com/[dead link]
  21. ^ Rainshadow Community Charter High School
  22. ^ "TEAM A Official Site". Teammartialartsacademy. http://www.teammartialartsacademy.com/about.html. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  23. ^ Lamplight Christian School
  24. ^ Bishop Manogue Catholic High School - Home
  25. ^ Sage Ridge School
  26. ^ "Hot August Nights". Hot August Nights. http://www.hotaugustnights.net/. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  27. ^ "ReTRAC". City of Reno. http://www.cityofreno.com/index.aspx?page=353. Retrieved 2008-07-28. 
  28. ^ Moffatt, Riley. Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850-1990. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996, 158.
  29. ^ a b c "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  30. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  31. ^ Metropolitan statistical areas and components, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  32. ^ Combined statistical areas and component core based statistical areas, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  33. ^ "RTC Washoe". RTC Washoe. http://www.rtcwashoe.com/public-transportation-5. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  34. ^ "RTC Washoe". RTC Washoe. http://www.rtcwashoe.com/public-transportation-2. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  35. ^ "RTC Washoe". RTC Washoe. http://www.rtcwashoe.com/public-transportation-3. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  36. ^ "Truckee Meadows Water Authority". http://www.tmh2o.com/. 
  37. ^ "Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility". http://www.tmwrf.com/. 
  38. ^ NBA Development League: The D-League Expands to Reno
  39. ^ Daniel Riggs (2008). "There are two roller derby organizations in Reno—and don’t ever make the mistake of confusing one for the other". newsreview.com. http://www.newsreview.com/reno/content?oid=871024. Retrieved 2010-08-14. 
  40. ^ "About Reno-Sparks". Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce. http://www.reno-sparkschamber.org/visitation. Retrieved 2010-06-01. 
  41. ^ Reno-Taho 2018 Bid Competitive-GamesBids.com 9.20.07
  42. ^ C. Michael Hogan, Marc Papineau et al. 1987. Development of a dynamic water quality simulation model for the Truckee River, Earth Metrics Inc., Environmental Protection Agency Technology Series, Washington D.C.
  43. ^ "Bio". Willy Vlautin. http://www.willyvlautin.com/bio. Retrieved 2010-08-12. 
  44. ^ Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)
  45. ^ Wood, Simon (26 February 2009). "Laws questions value of sister city relationship". Wanganui Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2009-03-13. http://www.webcitation.org/5fEF8lnkj. 
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