[6] Nicknamed the Queen of the Silver Camps for its mining-rich history,[1] it is now primarily a tourism-based resort city, notable for attractions like the Mizpah Hotel and the Clown Motel.

The census-designated place (CDP) of Tonopah has a total area of 16.2 square miles (42 km2), all land.

The American community began circa 1900 with the discovery of silver-rich ore by prospector Jim Butler.

The legendary tale of discovery says that he went looking for a burro that had wandered off during the night and sought shelter near a rock outcropping.

Men of wealth and power entered the region to consolidate the mines and reinvest their profits into the infrastructure of the town of Tonopah.

Once he had a small bankroll, he talked Jack Carey, owner of the Tonopah Club, into taking him in as a partner and filing for a gaming license.

When old friend George S. Nixon, a banker, arrived in town, Wingfield invested in his Nye County Bank.

[7] Wingfield believed that the end of the gold and silver mining production was coming and took his bankroll to Reno, where he invested heavily in real estate and casinos.

By 1910, gold production was falling, and by 1920, the town of Tonopah had less than half the population it had fifteen years earlier.

Located about halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, it has supported travelers as a stopover and rest spot on a lonely highway.

Today the Tonopah Station has slots and the Banc Club also offers some gaming.

[11] The founder, Jim Butler, named the settlement from what is thought to be a Shoshoni language word, pronounced "TOE-nuh-pah.

[13] Tonopah has an arid, cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) with cool winters and hot summers.

Due to Tonopah’s aridity and high altitude, daily temperature ranges are quite large and lows in winter are similar to many continental climates.

During the silver bonanza of the first decade of the 20th century, the need in the precious-metal fields for freight service led to construction of a network of local railroad lines across the Nevada desert to Tonopah.

Daily bus service between Las Vegas, Tonopah, and Reno is provided by Salt Lake Express.