This is just a minor correction to Zeolite's entry.
Carson City is located in the Eagle Valley, south of Washoe Valley and north of Carson Valley. In Carson Valley is some of the most beautiful agricultural scenery you'll ever see, plus two nifty towns, Minden and Gardnerville. In the Carson Valley you can find some of the best Basque food you've ever eaten. Trust me.
Features which make Carson City stand out in this region are:
- A wonderful downtown full of places to walk around to
- The old state capitol building, which has a silver (nay! Tin!) dome
- An interpretive trail around a state penitentary
Carson City is also the gateway to Lake Tahoe via US Highway 50 (Tahoe is also accessible from Reno via Nevada 431 and Interstate 80 )
If you spend any time at all in northwestern Nevada, you'll end up calling the place "Carson" so you can start calling it that now if you'd like.
Cheers.