Eureka is located at, in the southern part of Eureka County, at in the Diamond Mountains, in a draw on the southern end of Diamond Valley, between Antelope and Newark valleys. At the 2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the population of the census-designated place of Eureka was 480, while the total population of Eureka and the surrounding area was 1,313. The town is located along the Lincoln Highway / U.S. Route 50, nicknamed "The Loneliest Road in America": aptly named, as the nearest towns along the highway are Austin and Ely. The nearest town is Duckwater, south. The climate is typical of the Great Basin: hot and dry with cool mornings in the summer with occasional monsoonal thunderstorms from late July through August; cold and relatively dry in the winter. Temperatures drop to or lower on an average 4.7 mornings during the winter, though in the severe winter of 1916/1917 this happened twenty-five times. They drop to on an average 181.3 mornings, though maximum temperatures top freezing on all but 26.3 days during an average winter. During the summer temperatures rise to or hotter on 11.8 afternoons, though has never been reached with the hottest temperature being on July 14, 1955. Snow accumulations vary from in mild winters to in excess of in more severe years; in the winter of 1906/1907, more than of snow fell. The wettest calendar year has been 1941 with and the driest 2008 with, whilst May 1917 with has been the wettest single month. The snowiest month has been March 1902 with of fresh snowfall. Under the Köppen climate classification, Eureka has a warm-summer humid continental climate.
History
The town was first settled in 1864 by a group of silver prospectors from nearby Austin, who discovered rock containing a silver-lead ore on nearby Prospect Peak. According to tradition, the town was named from an incident when a prospector exclaimed "Eureka!" when he discovered deposits of silver ore. The town became the county seat in 1873, when Eureka County was carved out of adjacent Lander, Elko, and White Pine counties. Mining, especially for lead, was the town's economic mainstay, as the nearby hillsides ranked as Nevada's second-richest mineral producer, behind western Nevada's Comstock Lode. Two of the largest concerns in Eureka were the Richmond Mining Company and the Eureka Mining Company. These two companies often collided, and in one instance, their litigation reached the U.S Supreme Court. The population boomed, reaching a high of 10,000 by 1878, but shrank as decreasing mine production and changing market conditions led to the closing of mines. The town was serviced by the narrow gauge Eureka and Palisade Railroad from 1873 to 1938.
Public services
Eureka is served by an all-volunteer fire department, which provides fire protection, rescue, and vehicle rescue services for Eureka and the surrounding areas. In 2009 a new brick and steel fire house was built on Main Street in Eureka. At the time of its building it was the second largest fire house in the state. In addition to being a modern fire fighting facility, it contains a museum of Eureka fire department equipment and vehicles dating back to the 1870s. The fire-museum may be viewed through the large glass windows, or a tour may be taken by contacting a local fireman. Eureka boasts three parks, a modern enclosed swimming facility, two baseball fields, a track, and football field. The 1880s Eureka Opera House was re-modeled in recent times and regularly schedules performers. The 1876 Eureka Court House is both historic and modern. It stands as the functioning governmental and legal center of Eureka County.
Celebrations
July 4, Independence Day, is a huge celebration in Eureka. The EurekaVolunteer Fire Department organizes a parade followed by street events, which require closing central Eureka to vehicular traffic. At 9pm the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department stages a fireworks display.
Education
Eureka has a public library, a branch of the Elko-Lander-Eureka County Library System.
Antonio Mendez, CIA operative, who orchestrated the smuggling of six US hostages out of Iran. The Academy Award-winning film Argo was based on the experience. Mendez was born in Eureka.
