Ely, Nevada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ely is a city in White Pine County, Nevada, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 4,041, and its population was estimated to be 4,325 in 2006. It is the county seat of White Pine County.GR6
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[edit] History
- BHP Nevada Railroad Ruth - Ely - Shafter (1996 - 1999)
[edit] Film history
- The climactic scene to the 2001 movie Rat Race was filmed in Ely, in and around the restored train depot of the railway museum. During the filming of the movie, Cuba Gooding Jr was photographed "dirty dancing" with a local girl.
Other Film titles that had filming locations in Ely are: 1) Operation Haylift, filmed in 1950 by director William A. Berke, is about a historical event that took place in White Pine County. George N. Swallow was portrayed by Joe Sawyer. Sawyer was also the producer and co-screenplay writer for the film. 2)Roadside Prophets, an independent film (1992), was directed by Abbe Wool. 3) My Blueberry Nights (2007), was directed Kar Wai Wong. Prominent stars including Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Ed Harris were cast in this film. 4) Play Dead (2008), a film directed by Jason Wiles. Prominent actors like Chris Klein, Fred Durst, and Jake Busey were cast in the picture.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 4,041 people, 1,727 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. The population density was 218.8/km² (566.8/mi²). There were 2,205 housing units at an average density of 119.4/km² (309.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.14% White, 0.32% African American, 3.12% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 3.71% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.35% of the population.
There were 1,727 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,408, and the median income for a family was $42,168. Males had a median income of $36,016 versus $26,597 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,013. About 11.3% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Geography and Climate
Ely is located at (39.253308, -114.877336).GR1 Altitude is 6435' above sea level.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.5 km² (7.1 mi²), all land.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures | ||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec High °F | 68 | 67 | 76 | 82 | 92 | 99 | 101 | 97 | 93 | 84 | 75 | 67 |
| Norm High °F | 40 | 44 | 49.9 | 57.9 | 67.3 | 79.2 | 87.3 | 85.1 | 75.8 | 63 | 48.8 | 41 |
| Norm Low °F | 10.4 | 15.6 | 21.9 | 26.4 | 33.4 | 40.6 | 47.4 | 46.4 | 37.5 | 27.8 | 18.2 | 10.6 |
| Rec Low °F | -27 | -30 | -13 | -5 | 7 | 18 | 28 | 24 | 15 | -3 | -15 | -29 |
| Precip (in) | 0.74 | 0.75 | 1.05 | 0.9 | 1.29 | 0.66 | 0.6 | 0.91 | 0.94 | 1 | 0.63 | 0.5 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [1] | ||||||||||||
[edit] Culture
Ely is a mining town, suffering through the boom and bust cycles so common in the West. Originally Ely was home to a number of copper mining companies, Kennecott being the most famous. Liberty Pit became the world's largest open-pit mine at its peak, but with a crash in the copper market in the mid 1970s, Kennecott shut down and Copper mining disappeared (temporarily).
With the advent of cyanide heap leaching -- a method of extracting gold from what was previously considered very low grade ore -- the next boom was on. Many companies processed the massive piles of "overburden" that had been removed from copper mines, or expanded the existing open-pit mines to extract the gold ore. Gold mines as widespread as the Robinson project near Ruth, and AmSelco's Alligator Ridge mine 65 miles from Ely, kept the town alive during the 1980s and 1990s, until the recent revival of copper mining. With Kennecott's smelter having been destroyed, ore mined now is shipped by rail to Seattle, where it is transported to Japan for smelting. The dramatic increase in demand for Copper in 2005 has once again made Ely a copper boom town.
[edit] Attractions
Some of its attractions include the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, "The Ghost Train of Old Ely... a fully functioning steam engine passenger train that regularly plies the historic tracks from Ely to the Robinson mining district, and the nearby Great Basin National Park. It is also the nearest town to the proposed site of the Clock of the Long Now on Mount Washington.
The long stretch of road on Nevada State Route 318 near Ely is very well known worldwide for the annual 90 miles Silver State Classic Challenge course, an authorised time trial Cannonball Run style race and attracts entries from all over the world. This event is one of the towns source of income from tourists and competitors.
[edit] Transportation
Commercial air service is available at Ely Airport.
Major roads include:
- U.S. Highway 6,
- U.S. Highway 50 - Ely is the eastern end of the portion of US 50 known as "The Loneliest Road in America"
- U.S. Highway 93
[edit] Trivia
Former First Lady of the United States Pat Nixon was born in Ely on March 16, 1912.
[edit] Wildlife Viewing
The Bureau of Land Management, part of the United States Department of the Interior, operates an area supporting an Ungulate herd south of town. Ely Elk Viewing Area offers visitors the opportunity to see an Ungulate community up close.
[edit] External links
- Ely, Nevada website - White Pine Tourism and Recreation Board
- Road Trip USA page about Ely
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
