Sparsely populated Esmeralda County

Esmeralda County is a diamond-shaped expanse of dry mountains and high desert wedged between Nye County and the California border.
Its 3,589 square miles includes the highest point in Nevada, 13,140-foot Boundary Peak, and fewer people than you will find at a typical Las Vegas middle school.
With one person for every 3 square miles of territory, Esmeralda ranks as one of the most sparsely populated counties outside of Alaska. In places, though, the county seems far emptier than that. But for a few true frontier-dwellers, nearly everyone lives in one of three spots: the mining outpost of Silver Peak, the sprawling farm community of Fish Lake Valley and the long-faded county seat of Goldfield.