Reno is a city in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in Northern Nevada, approximately 22 miles from Lake Tahoe. Known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", Reno is famous for its hotels and casinos and as the birthplace of Harrah's Entertainment. It is the county seat of Washoe County, in the northwestern part of the state. The city sits in a high desert at the foot of the Sierra Nevada and its downtown area occupies a valley informally known as the Truckee Meadows. It is named after slain Union general Jesse L. Reno.Reno is the most populous Nevada city outside the Las Vegas Valley, with an estimated population of 241,445 in 2015. Reno is part of the Reno–Sparks metropolitan area, which consists of all of both Washoe and Storey counties and has a 2016 estimated population of 457,667.