Route Description
US 50 crosses the central portion of Nevada, entering the west side of the state near Lake Tahoe and exiting the east side near Great Basin National Park. The route crosses mostly desolate terrain in the journey across the state; US 50 passes through several large desert valleys and basins. The highway crosses 17 named mountain passes that break up the Nevada desert. To crest some of the passes along US 50 requires navigating steep 8% grades and hairpin turns through pine forests to reach altitudes of over 7,000 feet (2,100 m).
In the stretch of highway between Fallon and Delta, Utah, a span of 409 miles (658 km), there are three small towns, Austin, Eureka and Ely. This span is roughly the same distance as Boston, Massachusetts to Baltimore, Maryland or Paris, France to Zürich, Switzerland. Traffic along US 50 varies greatly. The average annual daily traffic in 2007 ranged from 52,000 vehicles per day in Carson City, to 530 vehicles per day near the Duckwater turnoff.
Read more about this topic: U.S. Route 50 In Nevada
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