| Railroad Valley | |
| Map: | USA Nevada |
| Location: | Tonopah Basin |
| Country: | United States |
| Region: | Nye and White Pine County |
| State: | Nevada |
| Relief: | yes |
| Label Position: | bottom |
| Coordinates: | 38.6872°N -115.4911°W |
| Coordinates Ref: | [1] |
| Elevation Ft: | 7,036 to 10,745 |
| Length Mi: | 80 |
| Length Orientation: | N–S |
| Width Mi: | 20 |
| Width Orientation: | SW–NE |
| Area Mi2: | 90 |
| Border: | Quinn Canyon Range |
| Border1: | Grant Range |
| Border2: | White Pine Range |
| Border3: | Pancake Range |
Railroad Valley is one of the Central Nevada Desert Basins in the Tonopah Basin and is about 80miles long north–south and up to 20miles wide, with some southern areas running southwest to northeast.
The southern end of the valley begins near Gray Top Mountain (elevation 7036feet) and stretches north all the way to Mount Hamilton (elevation 10745feet). To the east are the Quinn Canyon, Grant, and White Pine Ranges, while to the west are the Pancake and Reveille Ranges. Most of the valley lies in Nye County, but it crosses into White Pine County at its northern end.[2] The valley includes numerous springs including Kate Springs and Blue Eagle Springs,https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/CollectionInfo.aspx?SpeciesID=508&State=NV ranches such as the Blue Eagle Ranch,[3] and 2 Tonopah Playas.
The valley has 4 separate Wildlife Management Areas ("Railroad Valley WMA"), and valley communities include Currant, Crows Nest, Green Springs, Lockes, and Nyala. The valley is the ancestral home of the Tsaidüka band of Western Shoshone, who are now enrolled in the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation.[4]
Most of Nevada's oil production (totalling about 553,000 barrels during 2002) comes from several small oil fields in Railroad Valley, including Eagle Springs, Trap Spring, and Grant Canyon oil fields.[2] The first well was drilled in 1954 by Shell Oil Company.[5] [6] The Eagle Springs Field, as it came to be known, included 14 wells with an average production of approximately 20,000 barrels per well per year by 1968. Only 10 wells remained by 1985 producing approximately 3.8 million barrels in total. By 1986, when a second oil field was discovered by Northwest Exploration Co, the Valley had 27 wells producing 6.8 millions.[6] [7]
The Valley also contains a playa with a lithium deposit which is "one of the 10 largest in the world and the largest in North America, with salt deposits 2,000 feet thick."[8]
NASA has used the flat ground for calibrating satellite geodesy, space-based radar, and height measurements, since the 1990s. In June 2023, NASA asked the USA's Bureau of Land Management to withdraw 36mi2 from its inventory of federal lands open to potential mineral exploration and mining, in order that the calibration area was preserved.[9] [10]