PhotoBlog : Big Smoky Valley of Central Nevada

The Big Smoky Valley of Central Nevada is one of my favorite places in the state. There are several reasons for this…but the main one being is that the valley is gorgeous and serves as a gateway to the highly beautiful and accessible Toiyabe Mountains, which is home to numerous 4×4 roads as well as the Arc Dome Wilderness Area.

As my travel log of the Big Smoky Valley lays out, I stumbled into this valley sort of by accident. And I got lucky…great lighting conditions…at least for about a half hour or so. I took many photographs, but most didn’t turn out…I was still learning the ropes of using my then-new Canon 20D digital camera. Still, as the Big Smoky Valley Photo Gallery 1 shows, I did get some nice photographs.

This photographs, while not the worlds greatest photo since the introduction of white bread, is still pretty nice. But I guess what I enjoy about this photo is that it truly symbolizes what this valley is about - towering mountains and massive, sweeping views that are seemingly endless.

The Big Smoky Valley is sweeping…massive even. It runs for more than 60 miles in length and varies from 5 to 20 miles in width. And the valley is totally dwarfed on the east side by the Toquima Mountains and on the west side by the Toiyabe Range. The mountain seen here is the edge of the Toiyabe Range and is part of the Arc Dome Wilderness Area.

Photo Galleries of the Big Smoky Valley

• Big Smoky Valley Photos : Gallery 1
• Big Smoky Valley Photos : Gallery 2

Camera Information

• model Canon EOS 20D
• exposureTime 0.005 s (1/200) (1/200)
• fnumber f/10.0
• exposure aperture priority (semi-auto)
• isoEquiv 100
• DateTime 2006:04:01 18:20:09
• aperture 10.000012731412
• meteringMode matrix
• focalLength 40.00 (40/1)
• exposureMode Auto Exposure

2 Responses to “PhotoBlog : Big Smoky Valley of Central Nevada”

1. kristen Says:
   March 5th, 2008 at 8:56 pm

   hey…I’ve moved to reno, hate it. Suggestions for smaller (much) towns around it? Thanks!

2. admin Says:
   March 5th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

   Hi Kristen,

   Define “around Reno,” like how many miles away? Unlike most cities that are Reno’s (and Las Vegas’s size), there are few suburbs of either place. The towns simply end…and the desert begins.

   Within say 60 miles of Reno…you have Carson City, which is nice, plus close to Tahoe obviously. Virginia City is nice in it’s own way too, although that town gets soooo crowded during the summer months. Then to the east you have a handful of towns, with probably the nicest being Fallon. Fernley, also to the East, is about 35 miles away.

   If you have the money, lots of nice places are up in Tahoe (both on the NV and CA side). But god, it’s horribly expensive up there.

   There is nothing North of Reno whatsoever. Go North on the Pyrmaid Parkway…the subdivisions soon end and the endless desert begins.

   There are also a number of towns South of Carson City, such as Minden that are quite nice.

   On Highway 50, to the east of Carson City, you have a number of small towns…they are nice but Highway 50 is quite busy. Fallon is about 50 miles from Carson City, by the way.

   Beyond Fallon, to the east, is basically nothing. The first town of any size beyond Fallon on Highwya 50 is Austin, then Eureka, then finally Ely.

   The Monitor Valley itself is beautiful…but it’s a long ways from Reno…a good four hours.

   Hopefully this helps a bit. Sorry you don’t like Reno. I live here and I like it…but it IS different from other cities, that’s for sure.

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