Customer Reviews

Nevada Atlas & Gazetteer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Delorme's Nevada Atlas and Gazeteer does not approach the quality of its other western states atlases. Users will be disappointed to discover that contour lines are rarely labelled. There is no distance scale, either on the pages or in the key - an oversight which would produce an automatic 'F' in introductory cartography. Furthermore, land ownership status is not indicated on the maps by color coding as with other atlases - instead there is only a single statewide page which is essentially useless. Finally, the maps on each page run to the edge with approximately a half-inch overlap between pages. Although convenient for inexperienced map users - it is a source of frustration for those with greater map experience. If you really need a Nevada atlas, then get this one. Otherwise, wait until Delorme reissues a new edition correcting its most serious flaws.

I attended college in Nevada and volunteered for the BLM in Nevada. I have traveled extensively throughout the state's rural areas since the 1980's; and several times over.

Those of you who have seen previous editions will notice that the new edition no longer displays bold red lines for heavily traveled unpaved county roads! Why?? At least back then, most of the bolded red line routes were pretty accurate. But now, they have all been reduced to thin red lines - which may be DeLorme's way of trying to get itself off the hook regarding its inaccuracy issues.

Yes it's true DeLorme doesn't have its act together in terms of fully researching its data. And yes, I too have been misled into taking routes that appeared to exist but didn't exist in reality, or, if they did "exist" they were in such bad shape (washed out & rocky outcroppings, super-soft sand & silt) that they shouldn't have been on the map to begin with.

The rule-of-thumb when exploring rural Nevada is: if a "road" appears bad shortly after you begin going on it, turn around immediately. Even if you've already invested a few miles of time on it, turn around and save your vehicle (and yourself) the punishment. I guarantee it won't "get better" the further you go down it, so, resist the temptation altogether. If your inner voice is saying "this road is bad", it is and most likely will only get worse.

Unless you drive a Hummer, stay away from any remote Nevada backroads. The state's rural road maintenance budget has been in shambles for years and therefore these routes are no longer getting any attention or priority.

Regarding the places shown as "towns" - change is constant and not even the BLM can keep up, so, don't rely on any maps. Just keep the following in mind: Interstates 80 and 15 and 95/395 and 50 are always safe bets for services at least once an hour. State routes (paved) in all directions between Reno, Las Vegas, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain, Austin, Eureka, Ely, Baker, Caliente, Tonopah, Hawthorne, Pahrump, Fallon, Gabbs, Elko, Wells, Wendover, and Jackpot are also safe bets. Outside of that, ignore DeLorme.

As other reviewers have noted, some roads were poorly marked "other state route or major connector"; when we got to some of these roads they were dirt, and labelled "unmaintained" and "use at own risk". In addition, I am fairly sure that some of the roads marked on the maps do not exist. We looked for a couple of turnoffs off SR 160, twice going back and forth where they were supposed to be, without seeing them.

This inadequate accuracy made the atlas worse than useless, since it cost money and time.

The DeLorme Nevada Atlas & Gazetteer is useful if you're planning to travel off of Nevada's main highways. But there's a notable flaw that I hope DeLorme will correct in future printings. The atlas shows many spots, represented by a black diamond as a "City or Town" according to the key on the inside front cover, that are no such thing. Some of those places are deserted. Others may have a house or two but no services. You may run out of gas if you rely solely on this atlas.

Take, for example, page 62 in the current edition. The hamlet of Hiko is listed in large type; you'd think it has every convenience. But the 2000-2001 edition of the Nevada Official Highway Map, published by the state's department of transportation, shows that Hiko has no services at all. On the same page of the atlas you'll find Logan and Crescent. Neither "City or Town" appears on the official highway map, and the atlas itself shows that Crescent connects to the outside world by the tiniest road -- probably a rough dirt track. On the facing page (page 63) you'll find Uvada, in large type, just across the Utah state line. The last time I drove by Uvada, in 2001, the place consisted of a railroad siding; I didn't see a single dwelling, much less any services.

Similarly, roads that appear to be modern thoroughfares according to the key are sometimes not paved. If you're familiar with Nevada, you'll know instinctively which ones are likely to be and which are not. But if you're visiting from New York or California, again beware.

Outside of Reno, the Carson City-Lake Tahoe area, and Las Vegas, Nevada is spectacularly empty, with lonely, starlit, sometimes snowy valleys that may contain a few hundred people in an area the size of Connecticut. Public services in those places are few and far between. Most roads are unpaved. Do not rely on the DeLorme atlas for the location of urban amenities, or even a gas station. Rather, obtain the official state road map. The 2000-2001 version that I have shows which places have services and which do not. And it shows which roads are paved and which likely are not.

These comments pertain to the third edition (2000) of the atlas. I hope that it will be updated and that my observations will become obsolete.

In the other cases where I have compared DeLorme & Benchmark side by side (California, New Mexico, Arizona), I prefer DeLorme. Not this time. As other reviewers have mentioned, BLM land is not marked in the main body of the atlas, only in the whole-state map; this alone makes the atlas nearly useless for those interested in exploring public lands. Benchmark's marking of public lands at a coarse scale in their "recreation maps", but not in the finer scale "landscape maps" is not ideal, but it is workable; DeLorme's approach for Nevada is not. I also notice that Benchmark includes more campgrounds (including one I stayed at last summer south of Silver Springs) and other fine detail for Nevada than DeLorme, whereas in other cases the opposite is true. Elsewhere in the west, stick with DeLorme. For Nevada, get the Benchmark.

Travelers from outside Nevada may assume that a town name on the map means a place to buy gas. This is not always true for small towns in rural Nevada. Often a small town shown on the map will only be an abandonded cafe. Small towns that are still inhabited often have no gas. Use this map to find wonderful and seldom visited sites in Nevada, and be sure to fill up when you come to a big town, like Ely or Tonapah.

Took a number of non-roads shown as roads in this atlas and almost became stranded once. Also missed some interesting roads not shown in this atlas. I later reviewed these errors in the other brand atlas of the same size and found them ALL to be correct in that atlas. I continually find errors in the California, New Mexico, and Nevada versions of the DeLorme atlases. I have since converted my usage to the other brand.

I use the Delorme Gazetteers, including this one, for planning my fishing trips every year. They include comprehensive coverage of the state in question with sufficient detail to identify all the major topological features one will find, including streams and lakes. Also, they show all the roads. One criticism is that they don't contain road mileages between locations, unlike a highway atlas. But, a highway atlas will not show topographic coutour lines, or indicate locations where one may launch kayaks or rafts, or show locations reputed to have good fishing. I keep a Delorme Gazetteer for each state in which I expect to travel on any extended drive. They enable me to find campgrounds (in the indexes and shown on the maps), roads, topography, and all the essentials to plan a trip.

I have had this for 8 years living, working and exploring in the Great Basin as a mining engineer. I keep it between the seat and the gearshift in my jeep. I use it daily, mark it up constantly, so it is now tattered and torn I have to buy a new one. My only recommendation is spend the extra buck and get a plastic jacket

Thank goodness for survival skills! This atlas suggested a road going north from Black Rock Desert was graded gravel, but it turned into a challenging 4 wheel track. I triple checked GPS coordinates along the way, so my position was correct. What should have been a 1/2 day drive at most turned into 8+ hours with an overnight roadside stay. This Atlas would be better for target practice than back road navigation. One good quality is the overlap from one page to another, saving page flipping when traveling along roads that border the page edge. Don't buy this Atlas! Look for another publisher or go BLM.