The Virginia Range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

of western

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, primarily within

Storey County Storey County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,104, making it the third-least populous county, but one of the fastest-growing economie ...

, and extending east into Lyon County. The range is named after James Finney, "Old Virginny", an early discoverer of gold associated with the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the U ...

.Smith, G.H., 1943, The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850–1997, Reno: University of Nevada Press,

Geography

The

forms a portion of the drainage divide between the

Truckee River The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...

(north) and the

Carson River The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long although the addition of the East Fork makes the total length , traversing five counties: Alpine Count ...

(south).

Truckee Meadows The Truckee Meadows is a valley in Northern Nevada, named for the Truckee River, which collects and drains all water in the valley. Truckee Meadows is also colloquially used as a name for the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area, even though the met ...

and the Washoe Valley are to the west, and the

Lahontan Valley The Lahontan Valley is a basin in Churchill County, Nevada, Churchill County, Nevada, United States. The valley is a landform of the central portion of the prehistoric Lake Lahontan's lakebed of 20,000-9,000 years ago. The valley and the adjace ...

is to the east. It is associated with the Flowery Range. Several paths lead into the Virginia Range. The highest peak is Mount Davidson at , near

Virginia City, Nevada Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...

. Other nearby peaks are Mount Bullion at and Ophir Hill at .

Flora

Jeffrey pine (''Pinus jeffreyi'') is the dominant species at higher elevations. Other trees in the range include the Single-leaf Pinyon Pine (''Pinus monophylla'') and Utah Juniper (''Juniperus osteosperma'').

Mining history

For the notable 1860s silver strike and mining town in the Virginia Range, see: *

* Virginia City Historic District (Virginia City, Nevada) * National Register of Historic Places in Storey County, Nevada

References

External links

Geology of the Virginia City Quadrangle, Nevada
by GEORGE A. THOMPSON, 1950
Topology map
{{coord, 39, 29.5, N, 119, 33.1, W, type:mountain_region:US-NV, display=title Mountain ranges of Nevada Mountain ranges of Storey County, Nevada Mountain ranges of Lyon County, Nevada Mountain ranges of the Great Basin Virginia City, Nevada