Truckee Meadows

The Truckee Meadows area is the second largest population center in Nevada. Based on Topographical mapping data from the USGS, Truckee Meadows is located in Washoe County and starts at the furthest southern runway of Reno Tahoe International Airport (GPS Coordinates 39.468836,-119.770912), The Truckee Meadows encompasses Rattle Snake Mountain at Huffaker Park, following the span of Steamboat Creek to the southern east end of Washoe and Storey County ending at the base of the Virginia Highlands. (GPS Coordinates 39.392730,-119.714006) The Truckee Meadows is a north-south trending basin covering approximately 94 square miles in western Nevada. It is bounded on the west by the Carson Range, on the east by the Virginia Range, on the south by the Steamboat hills, and by Peavine Peak to the north.

The Truckee Meadows area is one of a series of valleys in northwestern Nevada that is bordered on the west by the Sierra Nevada Range and on the east by the Virginia Range and to the south, the Pine Nut Range. The "Truckee Meadows area" defines the topographic basin bordered on the west by the Carson Range, which is a spur of the Sierra Nevada Range, on the east by the Virginia Range, on the north by units of these two ranges, and on the south by Pleasant Valley. Steamboat Creek is the main tributary supplying the Truckee River through the Truckee Meadows. Steamboat Creek, flows north-ward into Steamboat Valley. Steamboat Valley is considered part of the Truckee Meadows. The Spanish Springs Valley drains into the Truckee Meadows area from the north.

Truckee Meadows has been incorrectly used interchangeably with the Reno-Sparks incorporated areas, which are not the same as the Truckee Meadows. The Truckee Meadows is named for the Truckee River, which crosses the valley from west to east and goes through downtown Reno.

Along Steamboat Creek of the Truckee Meadow, the most common plants, include lush grasses like the Great Basin wild rye (Leymus cinereus) and tule (Scirpus sp.). Riparian vegetation of the meadow include black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), willow species (Salis sp.), and silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea). At elevated and better-drained valley margins grows the typical sagebrush-grass zone. Common plants in this habitat consisted of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentate), rabbitbrush (chrysothamnus sp.), greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), horsebrush (Tetradymia glabrata), and spiny hopsage (Grayia spinosa) Common bunch grasses included wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum), bluegrass (Poa sp.), Great Basin Wild rye (Elymus cinereaus), Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides), squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix), and needle and thread (Stipa comate).

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