State capital and a county itself, Carson City is situated near the edge of the forested eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada in Eagle Valley. It was first called Eagle Ranch and later renamed for Kit Carson. It became the social center for nearby settlements and shared Wild West notoriety in the silver stampede days of the last century. Fitzsimmons knocked out Corbett here in 1897. Movies of the event (the first of their kind) grossed $1 million.

A Ranger District office of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is located here.