Steamboat Springs is a volcanic field of lava domes and flows in western Nevada, located south of Reno. Native Americans considered the springs a sacred place, and settlers moving west during the 1849 Gold Rush used the springs as a watering place for their wagons. Starting in 1859, cabins began to be built near the steam columns, and many buildings were destroyed by a fire in 1867. A hotel was built in the 1870s, later joined by a drugstore, cottages, and bathing facilities. The springs took their name from the rumbling and surging sounds, which recalled the sounds of a steamboat in motion. In 1871, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad arrived in Steamboat Springs, linking it with Reno. A 1900 earthquake caused the hot springs and geysers to dry up, while the hotel was destroyed by a 1901 wildfire. A geothermal plant came online in 1987, putting an end to the geysers.