Tonopah, Nevada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tonopah, Nevada
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Central Tonopah from the south
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| Nickname(s):
Queen of the Silver Camps
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| Motto(s):
Visit Today & Mine Away
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Tonopah, Nevada, is located in the Tonopah Basin near the Esmeralda County border.
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 Tonopah, Nevada
Location in Nevada
Tonopah, Nevada
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Nevada |
| County | Nye County |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Named for | Shoshoni language |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.26 sq mi (23.98 km2) |
| • Land | 9.26 sq mi (23.98 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 6,047 ft (1,843 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 2,179 |
| • Density | 235.34/sq mi (90.87/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code |
89049
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| Area code(s) | 775 |
| FIPS code | 32-73600 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0845985 |
| Website | http://www.tonopahnevada.com/ |
| Reference #: | 15 |
Tonopah (/ˈtoʊnəˌpɑː/ tohn-Ə-pah) is a small town in Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is the main town in Nye County. People call it the Queen of the Silver Camps because of its rich history in mining. Today, Tonopah is mostly a place for tourism, with cool spots like the Mizpah Hotel and the Clown Motel.
Tonopah is located where two major roads, U.S. Routes 6 and 95, meet. It's about halfway between big cities like Las Vegas and Reno. In 2010, about 2,478 people lived there. The town covers an area of about 16.2 square miles (42 square kilometers).
Contents
History of Tonopah
How Tonopah Started: The Silver Discovery
The town of Tonopah began around 1900. A prospector named Jim Butler found a lot of silver-rich ore here. The story goes that he was looking for his lost burro (a type of donkey). He picked up a rock to throw at it and noticed the rock was super heavy. It turned out to be a huge silver discovery! This was the second-biggest silver find in Nevada's history. However, some say Jim's wife, Belle, who was from the local Paiute tribe, and her family, actually led him to the area. Indigenous people had known about these surface minerals for a long time.
Growth and Changes in the Early 1900s
After silver was found, rich and powerful people came to Tonopah. They bought mines and used their money to build up the town. One person was George Wingfield. He started as a poker player and later invested in mining companies and banks. By 1904, he was very wealthy from his investments. He worked with his friend, banker George S. Nixon, to help miners and buy more mines.
By 1910, the amount of gold being found started to drop. By 1920, Tonopah's population was less than half of what it had been 15 years earlier. Mining continued on a smaller scale, and the town became a stop for travelers.
Tonopah Today: Military and Solar Energy
Since the late 1900s, many jobs in Tonopah have come from the nearby Tonopah Test Range. This is a military area used for testing things like nuclear bombs and for developing special planes, like the F-117 Nighthawk.
In 2014, a company called SolarReserve built a huge solar energy project near Tonopah. This project, called the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, uses a special liquid to store solar energy. It started making power in 2015.
On May 15, 2020, a strong earthquake (magnitude 6.5) happened about 35 miles (56 km) west of Tonopah. Many smaller aftershocks followed. Luckily, no one was hurt. This was the biggest earthquake in Nevada since 1954.
What Does Tonopah Mean?
Origin of the Town's Name
The town's founder, Jim Butler, named the settlement. The name "Tonopah" is thought to come from a Shoshoni language word. It's pronounced "TOE-nuh-pah." Before this, the town had other names, like Butler City.
Local stories say the name means "hidden spring." Experts who study languages think the name comes from either the Shoshone word to-nuv or the Northern Paiute word to-nav, both meaning "greasewood." The word pa means "water" in both languages.
Tonopah's Climate
Weather in Tonopah
Tonopah has a dry, cold desert climate. This means it has cool winters and hot summers. Because it's very dry and high up, the temperature can change a lot between day and night. Even in summer, nights are cool.
On average, there are about 50 days a year when the temperature reaches 90°F (32°C) or higher. There are also many mornings (about 158) when the temperature drops to 32°F (0°C) or lower. Sometimes, the high temperature doesn't even get above freezing.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Tonopah was 104°F (40°C) on July 18, 1960. The lowest was -15°F (-26°C) on January 24, 1937, and January 23, 1962.
Tonopah gets about 5.14 inches (131 mm) of rain each year, spread out pretty evenly through the months. It also gets about 16.8 inches (43 cm) of snow each year.
| Climate data for Tonopah Airport, Nevada, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1954–present | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) |
75 (24) |
79 (26) |
88 (31) |
96 (36) |
103 (39) |
105 (41) |
103 (39) |
101 (38) |
90 (32) |
77 (25) |
70 (21) |
105 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 58.3 (14.6) |
62.4 (16.9) |
71.2 (21.8) |
79.6 (26.4) |
88.1 (31.2) |
96.7 (35.9) |
100.1 (37.8) |
97.7 (36.5) |
91.8 (33.2) |
81.5 (27.5) |
69.1 (20.6) |
58.2 (14.6) |
100.8 (38.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 45.8 (7.7) |
49.3 (9.6) |
57.6 (14.2) |
64.3 (17.9) |
74.0 (23.3) |
85.3 (29.6) |
92.4 (33.6) |
90.4 (32.4) |
81.7 (27.6) |
68.4 (20.2) |
54.6 (12.6) |
44.6 (7.0) |
67.4 (19.6) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 33.9 (1.1) |
37.2 (2.9) |
43.8 (6.6) |
49.9 (9.9) |
59.0 (15.0) |
69.1 (20.6) |
75.7 (24.3) |
73.7 (23.2) |
65.7 (18.7) |
53.5 (11.9) |
41.0 (5.0) |
32.5 (0.3) |
52.9 (11.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 22.0 (−5.6) |
25.1 (−3.8) |
30.1 (−1.1) |
35.6 (2.0) |
44.1 (6.7) |
52.9 (11.6) |
59.1 (15.1) |
57.0 (13.9) |
49.6 (9.8) |
38.5 (3.6) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
20.4 (−6.4) |
38.5 (3.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 5.7 (−14.6) |
12.1 (−11.1) |
17.9 (−7.8) |
23.2 (−4.9) |
32.0 (0.0) |
39.3 (4.1) |
49.9 (9.9) |
47.8 (8.8) |
38.3 (3.5) |
25.3 (−3.7) |
13.9 (−10.1) |
7.0 (−13.9) |
2.0 (−16.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −15 (−26) |
−9 (−23) |
4 (−16) |
9 (−13) |
19 (−7) |
27 (−3) |
40 (4) |
37 (3) |
24 (−4) |
10 (−12) |
3 (−16) |
−13 (−25) |
−15 (−26) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.45 (11) |
0.53 (13) |
0.52 (13) |
0.29 (7.4) |
0.51 (13) |
0.23 (5.8) |
0.50 (13) |
0.39 (9.9) |
0.45 (11) |
0.38 (9.7) |
0.28 (7.1) |
0.26 (6.6) |
4.79 (120.5) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 36.9 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Population of Tonopah
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1950 | 1,375 | — | |
| 1960 | 1,679 | 22.1% | |
| 1970 | 1,716 | 2.2% | |
| 1980 | 1,952 | 13.8% | |
| 1990 | 3,616 | 85.2% | |
| 2000 | 2,627 | −27.4% | |
| 2010 | 2,478 | −5.7% | |
| 2020 | 2,179 | −12.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2000, Tonopah had 2,627 people living there. About 1,109 households were in the town. The population density was about 162 people per square mile (62 people per square kilometer).
The population was spread out by age. About 27% of the people were under 18 years old. The median age was 39 years. This means half the people were younger than 39 and half were older.
Getting Around Tonopah
Past Transportation: Railroads
When silver mining was at its peak in the early 1900s, Tonopah needed ways to move goods. Many local railroad lines were built across the Nevada desert to reach Tonopah. These included the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad and the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad. Coal was brought in by train to power the mines and the mills that processed the silver ore.
As mining slowed down and railroads changed, large 18-wheelers became the main way to move goods. Tonopah became known as a tough place for truck drivers to reach. The famous song "Willin'" by Lowell George mentions Tonopah, showing its importance as a trucking stop.
Modern Transportation in Tonopah
Today, Tonopah is served by two major U.S. Highways: Routes 6 and 95. There are no longer any train services. Small planes can use the nearby Tonopah Airport.
For bigger flights, the closest airport with regular passenger service is Mammoth Yosemite Airport, about 100 miles (160 km) away. The closest major airports are Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno. Both are more than 200 miles (320 km) away.
You can also travel by bus. Salt Lake Express offers daily bus service connecting Las Vegas, Tonopah, and Reno.
Famous People from Tonopah
- Hugh Bradner (1915–2008): A physicist who invented the neoprene wetsuit, which changed scuba diving.
- T. Brian Callister: A doctor and expert in health care policy who worked in Tonopah.
- Thomas Joseph Connolly: A Catholic bishop.
- Wyatt Earp (1848–1929): A famous lawman from the Old West who opened a saloon in Tonopah in 1902.
- Barbara Graham (1923–1955): One of the few women executed in California.
- William Robert Johnson (1918–1986): A Catholic bishop.
- Andriza Mircovich (c. 1879–1913): The only prisoner in Nevada to be executed by shooting.
- Tasker L. Oddie (1870–1950): The 12th Governor of Nevada and a U.S. Senator.
- Key D. Pittman (1872–1940): A U.S. Senator.
- Vail M. Pittman (1880–1965): The 19th Governor of Nevada.
- Mayme Schweble (1874–1943): A gold prospector and politician, one of the first women to live in Tonopah.
- Stalking Cat (1958–2012): Known for his many body modifications.
- Sally Bould Stan (1917–2008): An architect born in Tonopah.
Fun Places to Visit in Tonopah
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- Mizpah Hotel: This historic hotel started being built in 1905, soon after Tonopah was founded. It was finished in 1908 and was once the tallest building in Nevada!
- The Clown Motel: This unique motel is right next to the Tonopah Cemetery. It's famous for stories of being haunted by "ghost clowns" and miners who died in a fire in 1911. The motel has even been featured on TV shows about haunted places, like Ghost Adventures and Most Terrifying Places in America.
Sister Cities
Tonopah has a special connection with another town far away:
Kéniéba, Mali
Images for kids
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The Tonopah (Nevada) Meteorite, also known as the Quinn Canyon meteorite. It weighs 3,275 pounds and is at the Field Museum.
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See also
In Spanish: Tonopah (Nevada) para niños
