The Nye and Ormsby County Bank, the only stone structure to be built in the town, was erected in 1906, but a decline followed the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1907 depression.

Grit derived from Tertiary lavas supplied by the southern part of the Toiyabe and Shoshone ranges is also abundant and widely distributed.

[8] Limestone, slate, schist, and quartzite totaling several thousand feet in thickness and ranging in age from lower Cambrian to Carboniferous are the oldest rocks found in this region.

Originally they probably covered the entire region, but at present they are found over extensive areas only in the Toiyabe, Toquima, Silver Peak, and Lone Mountain ranges.

Eruptive formations, consisting of rhyolite and minor amounts of basalt and rocks of intermediate composition with associated tuffs and breccias, are exposed over extensive areas in all of the ranges bordering the valley.

A large granite mass occupies the lofty central part of the Toquima Range particularly in the region of Round Mountain.

Shore features, such as gravelly beaches and embankments still exist in the valley while the former lake sites are presently occupied by alkali flats.

[8] On the eastern alluvial slopes of the Toiyabe Range, there are many escarpments which face the valley and are believed to be due to recent faulting (Meinzer, 1917).

When the gold at Manhattan was deposited, approximately 16 million years ago, the hydrothermal cells may have operated at some distance beneath the Earth's surface.

Within about 10 miles (16 km) north along State Route 376 active placer gold mining is taking place on a small scale.

[citation needed] Manhattan experiences a semi-arid climate with short, warm summers and long, cold winters.