Nevada is best known for the neon of Las Vegas, but the Silver State is mostly empty desert full of surprises. Here are ten facts.

1. It is the driest state in the country

Nevada receives the least precipitation of any state, with vast stretches of arid basin and range.

2. Most of it is federal land

A large majority of Nevada is owned by the federal government, more than almost any other state.

3. It is named for snow

“Nevada” comes from a Spanish word meaning “snow-capped,” a reference to the Sierra Nevada mountains.

4. The Silver State earned its nickname

The Comstock Lode silver strike in the 1800s drove a mining boom that helped make Nevada a state.

5. It is home to the mysterious Area 51

This secretive military installation has fueled decades of UFO speculation and pop-culture fascination.

6. Wild horses roam its ranges

Nevada is home to more free-roaming wild horses than any other state.

7. Las Vegas is brilliantly bright

The Las Vegas Strip is so illuminated that it is one of the brightest spots on Earth when viewed from above at night.

8. It hosts a temporary desert city

Each year, the Burning Man festival builds and dismantles an entire temporary city in the Black Rock Desert.

9. It has a “loneliest road”

A stretch of U.S. Route 50 across the state has been nicknamed “the Loneliest Road in America.”

10. It contains a remote national park

Great Basin National Park, far from the cities, offers ancient bristlecone pines and some of the darkest night skies in the country.

Step away from the casinos and Nevada reveals itself as a vast, wild and mysterious landscape.