The district heating system is located in the city of Elko in the southwest portion of Elko County, Nevada. Elko County is located within the Basin and Range Physiographic Province in the southwestern United States. The Elko County School District system is one of two district heating systems in Elko, with the other being the privately owned system operated by the Elko Heat Company. In 1985, the school district had originally planned to drill a well to tap low-temperature geothermal resources that could be used for a geothermal heat pump system for the junior high school. However, when the well, drilled to 1,876 ft (572 m) encountered significant flows of 190 F (88 C) geothermal water, a decision was made to serve all of the school district facilities in Elko as well as a number of additional public buildings, including the hospital and Convention Center, through the construction of a district heating system