Editing Nye County, Nevada (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has an area of {{convert|18199|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|18182|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|17|sqmi}} (0.09%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_32.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 20, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref> The highest and most topographically prominent mountain in the county is [[Mount Jefferson (Nevada)|Mount Jefferson]] at {{convert|11,949|ft|m}}.<ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger|pid=3501 |name=Mount Jefferson, Nevada|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref>

Nye County is in south-central Nevada. It is Nevada's largest county and the third-largest county in the contiguous United States, after [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]] in [[California]] and [[Coconino County, Arizona|Coconino County]] in [[Arizona]]. Nye County's land area of {{convert|11,560,960|acre|km2}} is larger than that of [[Maryland]], [[Hawaii]], [[Vermont]], and [[New Hampshire]], and larger than the combined area of [[Massachusetts]], [[Rhode Island]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Delaware]]. Of this vast land area, only {{convert|822,711|acre|km2}}, or just over 7%, is private land; most of it is public land managed by the federal government. Before the Treaty of Ruby Valley, the whole area was controlled by the [[Western Shoshone]] people, who say they never ceded territory here. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]] the county's Census Tract 9805, with a land area of {{convert|4,225.415|sqmi|km2}}, comprising the [[Nevada Test Site]] and Nye County's portion of the [[Nevada Test and Training Range]], is the country's largest [[census tract]] that has no resident population (as of the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]]).

[[Las Vegas]], in [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]], is {{convert|100|mi|km}} southeast of Yucca Mountain. Many Pahrump residents commute {{convert|60|mi|km}} each way to Las Vegas via [[Nevada State Route 160]], which for much of its length is a four-lane divided highway.

===Adjacent counties===
{{div col}}
* [[Churchill County, Nevada|Churchill County]] - northwest
* [[Lander County, Nevada|Lander County]] - north
* [[Eureka County, Nevada|Eureka County]] - north
* [[White Pine County, Nevada|White Pine County]] - northeast
* [[Lincoln County, Nevada|Lincoln County]] - east
* [[Clark County, Nevada|Clark County]] - southeast
* [[Esmeralda County, Nevada|Esmeralda County]] - west
* [[Mineral County, Nevada|Mineral County]] - west
* [[Inyo County, California]] - south
{{div col end}}

===National protected areas===
* [[Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge]]
* [[Death Valley National Park]] (part)
* [[Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest]] (part)
* [[Spring Mountains National Recreation Area]] (part)