Elko County /

Elko County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 45,291. As of July 1, 2007, the population of Elko County was estimated at 50,434. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth-largest county in the contiguous United States, ranking lower when the boroughs of Alaska are included. Elko County is part of the Elko micropolitan area. Elko County was established in 1869 from Lander County and the name was taken from the Shoshoni word for "white woman". According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 17,203 square miles (44,555.6 km), of which 17,179 square miles (44,493.4 km) is land and 24 square miles (62.2 km) (0.14%) is water. Not counting Alaska's boroughs (four of which are also larger), it is the fourth largest county in area in the United States (cf. San Bernardino County, California, Coconino County, Arizona, and Nye County, Nevada). The elevation ranges from about 4,300 feet (1,300 m) at the edge of the salt flats of the Great Salt Lake Desert, to 11,157 feet (3,401 m) in the Ruby Mountains. The county has 3 physiographic sections