Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/494

NEUWIED brilliant colors, such as red, yellow, blue, etc.  NEUWIED, a town of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, 8 miles below Coblenz; formerly capital of the principality of Wied. The castle of the princes has a beautiful garden, in which are many Roman antiquities unearthed in the vicinity. The town contains an important institute of the Moravian Brethren, and there are some minor manufactures. Pop. about 20,000.  NEVA, a river of Russia, flowing W. from Lake Ladoga to the Bay of Cronstadt, in the Gulf of Finland. It passes through St. Petersburg, and carries to the sea an enormous volume of water (greater than that of the Rhine) from the lakes Ladoga, Onega, Ilmen, and others. Its total length, with windings, is about 40 miles; in places it is over 4,000 feet wide, elsewhere the channel is narrowed to 180 feet; and in one or two places the navigation is embarrassed by reefs and rapids. It is frozen on an average from Nov. 25 to April 21. By the Ladoga canal the Neva communicates with the vast water system of the Volga, and thus it may be said to join the Baltic with the Caspian Sea.  NEVADA, a State in the Western Division of the North American Union; bounded by Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and California; admitted to the Union, Oct. 31, 1864; counties, 17; capital, Carson City; area, 107,740 square miles; pop. (1890) 45,761; (1900) 42,335; (1910) 81,875; (1920) 77,407.

Topography.—The State is situated in the Great American Basin, having for its boundaries the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the W., the Wahsatch Mountains on the E., and cross ranges on the N. and S. It is a table-land 4,000 to 8,000 feet above sea-level. The State is crossed by a series of parallel mountain ranges with a general N. and S. direction. The principal chains are the Virginia Mountains, the Truckee Mountains, Antelope, East Humboldt, Toyabe and Santa Rosa Mountains. Between these mountains are deep valleys; the Colorado valley having numerous abrupt ranges, and peaks rising above its plateaus. The most important ranges of the Colorado region are the Muddy, Vegas, Spring Mountain, and Kingston Mountains. There are numerous lakes, the rivers having no outlet over the mountains. The largest lakes include Winnemucca, Und, and Pyramid lakes in the extreme W., Carson Lake and Humboldt and Carson Sink, E. of the W. Humboldt Mountains, and Eagle, Franklin, and Ruby lakes in the

N. E. The Humboldt river crosses the N. part of the State and empties into Humboldt Lake. The Truckee river rises in Tahoe Lake, and flows S. into Pyramid Lake. Other important rivers are the Rio Virgin, Carson, Quinn's river, Reese river, and the Colorado river, which forms a large part of the S. E. boundary.

Geology.—The mountains of Nevada show formations of nearly every epoch, from the Azoic to the late Jurassic. The volcanic nature of the State is shown by the ancient and modern eruptive rocks, and by the lava beds of the N. W. The mountain ranges are in places composed entirely of limestone, in others of granite, syenite, porphyry, slate, or quartzite.

Mineralogy.—Nevada is rich in minerals, though, excepting silver and gold, they have been worked but little. The Comstock silver lode, discovered in 1859, was for years the most valuable in the world. Important new discoveries of gold and silver mines were made in 1910 and in the following years. This resulted in a greatly increased production of these minerals of the State. The copper production has also greatly increased in recent years. The gold production in 1918 was 322,776 fine ounces, valued at $6,662,000. In the same year there were produced 10,113,405 fine ounces of silver, valued at $10,113,405. Copper production in 1918 was 106,266, 603 pounds. Nevada ranks fourth among the States in the production of this metal. There is also a considerable production of lead.

Other minerals mined included tungsten, antimony, platinum, zinc, cinnabar, tin, manganese, plumbago, nickel, cobalt, and iron. Beds of sulphur, gypsum, rock salt, borax, saltpeter, and carbonate of soda are extensive. The building stones include limestone, granite, slate, sandstone, agate, and marble. Amethysts, carnelians, and tourmalines are also found.

Soil and Productions.—With the exceptions of the river valleys there is scarcely any arable land in the State. The valleys and basins however are well watered and adapted to agricultural pursuits, and under proper irrigation considerable mountain land has been made productive. The principal crops are hay, wheat, oats, and barley. The figures for agricultural production in 1919 were as follows: oats, 384,000 bushels, valued at $384,000; barley, 420,000 bushels, valued at $630,000; wheat, 668,000 bushels, valued at $1,429,000; hay, 526,000 tons, valued at $10,310,000; potatoes, 900,000 bushels, valued at $1,350,000. The forest trees are chiefly pines, firs, and spruces, of great size. The foothills