Nevada is an arid state of the USA, lying between California and Utah. Most of the state is within the Great Basin, but parts of the northeast drain into the Snake River and the the southern portion is within the Mojave desert and the Colorado River. Please note that while many outsiders pronounce the state's name as "ne-VAH-duh", the correct local pronunciation is [nəˈvædə], with a short "a" as in apple,. Although the majority of tourists only visit Las Vegas, Reno and Tahoe to gamble, watch shows, and indulge themselves in food and drink, Nevada offers the more discerning traveler western frontier experiences verging on horse opera cliche, and landscapes utterly different from Europe, East Asia or more populated parts of North America. (Nevada Wikitravel)