Nevada State Route 447

Last updated

Nevada 447.svg

State Route 447
Gerlach Road
NV-447 map.svg
Major roads in northern Nevada with SR 447 in red
Route information
Maintained by NDOT
Length74.645 mi [1] (120.129 km)
Tourist
routes
MUTCD D6-4.svg Pyramid Lake Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South endNevada 427.svg SR 427 in Wadsworth
 Nevada 446.svg SR 446 near Nixon
North endCR 447 jct.svg CR 447 in Gerlach
Highway system
  • Highways in Nevada
Nevada 446.svg SR 446 SR 485 Nevada 485.svg

State Route 447 (SR 447) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Nevada. The highway is almost entirely within Washoe County but does for a brief time enter Pershing County, Nevada. [2] The highway connects the town of Gerlach to the remainder of the state via Wadsworth. Though passing through extremely remote and desolate areas of Nevada, the highway has recently gained fame as the primary route to access the Black Rock Desert, the site of the annual Burning Man festival. The state maintained portion ends at Gerlach; however the highway continues as Washoe County Route 447 from Gerlach north to the California state line near Cedarville.

Contents

A 4.5-mile (7.2 km) portion of this highway, along with portions of SR 445 and SR 446, has been designated the Pyramid Lake Scenic Byway. [3]

Route description

View north from the south end of SR 447 2015-10-30 09 30 32 View north from the south end of Nevada State Route 447 (Gerlach Road) in Wadsworth, Nevada.jpg
View north from the south end of SR 447
SR 447 leaving Winnemucca Lake northbound toward Empire NV447 near Empire Nevada.JPG
SR 447 leaving Winnemucca Lake northbound toward Empire
SR 447 between Wadsworth and Pyramid Lake S.R. 447 Between Wadsworth and Pyramid.jpg
SR 447 between Wadsworth and Pyramid Lake

The route begins at a junction with Old US 40 in Wadsworth. The highway proceeds north following the path of the Truckee River, and passes along the east side of the river's terminus at Pyramid Lake near Nixon. The highway continues north following the western edge of Winnemucca Lake, a dry lake that once also was the terminus of the Truckee river. During this portion the highway straddles the Washoe/Pershing County line. [2]

The highway enters the Black Rock Desert just before arriving at Empire, a city founded on processing gypsum extracted from the desert. The highway ends 0.375 miles (0.60 km) north of crossing the Union Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route in Gerlach.

Just past where the official designation ends is the turn off for former State Route 34, which is used to access the large playa of the Black Rock Desert and the site of the annual Burning Man Festival.

County Route 447

The State highway officially ends here, becoming CR 447 where the roadbed continues as a Washoe county road [4] [5] to the California State Line near the Lassen/Modoc county line. This road is frequently called the Gerlach-Cederville Road. Some maps erroneously list this road as part of State Route 447. [2]

History

Before 1978, the present-day highway was part of SR 34 from Gerlach to Wadsworth, and former SR 81 from Gerlach to the California state line (now CR 447). [1] [6]

Ten solar energy arrays, totaling 451 kilowatts, have been installed along Nevada 447 with the help of Burning Man-related not-for-profit Black Rock Solar and Nevada's "Solar Generations" rebate program. Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons issued an August 18, 2010 proclamation declaring the road "to be America's Solar Highway". [7]

Major intersections

This major intersections table lists junctions for both State Route 447 and Washoe County Route 447. All junctions are located in Washoe County.

Locationmi
[2] [8]
kmDestinationsNotes
Wadsworth 0.000.00Nevada 427.svg SR 427  Fernley
Nixon Nevada 446.svg SR 446 west Sutcliffe, Pyramid Lake State Park
Gerlach 74.64120.12SR 447 ends and CR 447 begins
75121Circle sign 34.svg CR 34 [4] Vya Former SR 34; to Black Rock Desert playa
130210 Surprise Valley RdEagleville, Cederville California state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related Research Articles

Black Rock Desert Northwest Nevada dry lake

The Black Rock Desert is a semi-arid region of lava beds and playa, or alkali flats, situated in the Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, a silt playa 100 miles (160 km) north of Reno, Nevada that encompasses more than 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) of land and contains more than 120 miles (200 km) of historic trails. It is in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan.

Gerlach, Nevada Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Gerlach, Nevada is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 107 at the 2018 American Community Survey. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prior to 2010, Gerlach was part of the Gerlach–Empire census-designated place. The town of Empire is now a separate CDP. The next nearest town, Nixon, is 60 miles (100 km) to the south on a reservation owned by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The Fly Geyser is located near Gerlach.

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Interstate 80 (I-80) traverses the northern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada. The freeway serves the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area and passes through the towns of Fernley, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Carlin, Elko, Wells and West Wendover on its way through the state.

State Route 341 is a state highway in western Nevada connecting US 50 near Dayton to Reno via Virginia City. Commonly known as the Virginia City Highway, or Geiger Grade north of Virginia City, the route has origins dating back to the 1860s.

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Former State Route 49, also known as Jungo Road, is an unimproved road from County Route 447 near Gerlach east to Winnemucca via the ghost towns of Sulphur and Jungo. It crosses the Kamma Mountains northeast of Sulphur. Most of the route runs parallel to the Feather River Route, a rail line originally built by the Western Pacific Railroad. In addition to an access for the ghost towns, the road also is an access for the Black Rock Desert from the East.

Nevada State Route 34 Former highway in Nevada

State Route 34 is a decommissioned state highway in Nevada from prior to the state's highway restructuring in 1978. Today a portion of former SR 34 is maintained by the Washoe County as a county highway with the not well known designation CR 34. A portion of State Route 447 was formerly SR 34, though the former SR 34 road bed is still used from Gerlach, Nevada to near Vya, Nevada.

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Lahontan Valley

The Lahontan Valley is a basin in 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 adjacent Carson Sink represent a small portion of the lake bed. Humboldt Lake is to the valley's northeast. Pyramid Lake is west. Walker Lake is to the south.

Nevada State Route 446 Highway in Nevada

State Route 446 is a 13.156-mile-long (21.173 km) state highway serving Washoe County, Nevada. The route runs from SR 445 to SR 447 at the town of Nixon.

State Route 427 is a 4.7-mile-long (7.6 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Nevada. It connects the community of Wadsworth in eastern Washoe County to the city of Fernley in western Lyon County. SR 427 comprises the former routing of U.S. Route 40 through the towns it serves. SR 427 also provides an eastern link to Pyramid Lake via a junction with State Route 447 in Wadsworth.

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References

Route map:

KML file (edithelp)
    KML is from Wikidata
    1. 1 2 Nevada Department of Transportation (January 2017). "State Maintained Highways of Nevada: Descriptions and Maps" . Retrieved 2017-03-17.
    2. 1 2 3 4 Nevada Road and Recreation Atlas (Map). 1:250000. Benchmark Maps. 2003. p. 38,46. ISBN   0-929591-81-X.
    3. "Nevada Scenic Byways". Nevada Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
    4. 1 2 "Department of Public Works Budget Presentation FY 2008‐2009 - page 14" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-08-29.
    5. "Washoe county roads department -- area descriptions". Washoe County, Nevada. Archived from the original on 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
    6. Nevada Department of Highways, Official Highway Map of Nevada Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine , 1978-79
    7. "A Proclamation by the Governor" . Retrieved 2010-09-13.
    8. Nevada Department of Transportation (May 2008). "Maps of Milepost Location on Nevada's Federal and State Highway System by County" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-10.