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Cortez

Ghost town · Lander County, Nevada

Cortez quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1938, 1:62,500)
Cortez quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1938, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Cortez is a ghost town in Lander County, Nevada. It is one of 40 former communities in Lander County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 5th among the 17 Nevada counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cortez as a historical populated place: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 40.1411° N, 116.6033° W.

Key facts

Nearest living townCrescent Valley, NV
Distance to it19.3 miles
Coordinates40.14111, -116.60333

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Cortez is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Crescent Valley, NV (population 630), about 19.3 miles away in a straight line. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Images

This is a shot of the Cortez Gold Mine Complex at the Abandoned town of Cortez. (I make note of the complex being at the Abandoned Town of Cortez, as there is a
This is a shot of the Cortez Gold Mine Complex at the Abandoned town of Cortez. (I make note of the complex being at the Abandoned Town of Cortez, as there is a · Trpster* a.k.a. PaulaJean JohnsonCassel / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cortez?

Cortez is in Lander County, Nevada, at 40.1411, -116.6033.

How many ghost towns are in Lander County?

Lander County, Nevada has 40 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.