Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas metropolitan area, includes the Las Vegas Valley, a 600-square-mile (1600 km²) basin, and surrounding areas, that are part of Clark County in southern Nevada. The area contains the largest concentration of people in the state. The history of the Las Vegas metropolitan area largely coincides with the history of the city of Las Vegas. "Las Vegas" is often used generically to describe the entire area covered in this article. In 2007, the Las Vegas brand was the second most-recognized brand behind Google.[1] In 2005, the valley hosted 34.7 million visitors.

The area is part of the Las Vegas-Paradise Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is by defined by the United States Census Bureau to include all of Clark County.[2]


History

Main article: Las Vegas history

The area was previously settled by Mormon farmers in 1854 and later became the site of a U.S. Army fort in 1864, beginning a long relationship between southern Nevada and the U.S. military. Since the 1930s, Las Vegas has generally been identified as a gambling center as well as a resort destination primarily targeting adults. Relatively inexpensive real estate prompted a residential population boom in the Las Vegas Valley in the 1990s and continues to the present day.

Nellis Air Force Base is located in the northeast corner of the valley. The ranges that the Nellis pilots use and various other land areas used by various federal agencies limit growth of the valley to the north.

[edit] Boundaries

The Las Vegas Valley is an area generally defined by the Spring Mountains on the west, Sheep Mountains to the north, Muddy Mountains, Eldorado Range and Lake Mead to the east, and the Black Mountains to the south.[citation needed]

[edit] Geography and environment
Las Vegas viewed in false color, from 438 miles (705 km) by TERRA satellite. Grass-covered land, such as golf courses, appears in red. The picture bottom is just south of Sunset road and the airport, the Spring Mountains on the west and Sunrise Mountain on the east
Las Vegas viewed in false color, from 438 miles (705 km) by TERRA satellite. Grass-covered land, such as golf courses, appears in red. The picture bottom is just south of Sunset road and the airport, the Spring Mountains on the west and Sunrise Mountain on the east

The land in the Las Vegas Valley is sandy desert with mountains in the distance.

[edit] Climate

The Las Vegas Valley lies in a relatively high-altitude portion of the Mojave Desert, and this can result in drastic changes of temperature between seasons, and even between day and night. The Valley generally averages less than five inches (130 mm) of rain annually. Daily summer temperatures from June through August typically exceed 100 °F (38 °C). While low ambient humidity tempers the effect of these temperatures, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and sun stroke can occur after even a limited time outdoors in the summer. The interiors of automobiles often prove deadly to small children and pets during the summer and surfaces exposed to the sun can cause first- and second- degree burns to unprotected skin. The late summer, especially in July and August, is marked by "monsoon season" when moist winds from the Gulf of California soak much of the Southwestern United States. While raising humidity levels, these winds develop into dramatic desert thunderstorms that cause flash flooding.

Winter temperatures are very mild with lows of around 30 °F (-1 °C). Snow accumulation at the valley floor is rare but the surrounding mountains receive as much as ten feet (3 m) in the winter.

[edit] Air quality

Being located in a desert valley creates issues with air quality. From the dust the wind picks up from disturbed desert, to the smog produced by vehicles to the pollen in the air, the valley can have some bad air days.

Pollen can be a major issue several weeks a year with counts occasionally in the 70,000 plus range. Local governments are trying to control this by banning plants that produce the most pollen.

The dust problems usually happen on very windy days, so they tend to be seasonal and of a short duration.

Smog on the other hand gets worst when there is no wind to move the air out of the valley. Also in winter it is possible to get an inversion in the valley air that actually traps any smog in the valley.

The county is working to control these problems and has shown some success over the years. The constant tightening of Federal requirements for allowable particles in the air, make the task of meeting air quality standards difficult.

[edit] Water

The native flora does little to help the soil retain water. During the intense rains of monsoon season or (relatively) wet months of January and February, a network of dry natural channels, called washes or arroyos, carved into the valley floor allows water to flow down from the mountains and converge in the Las Vegas Wash which runs through the Clark County Wetlands Park. The wash system used to form a large natural wetlands which then flowed into the Colorado River until the construction of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River led to the creation of Lake Mead. Further development in the 1980s and 1990s made Lake Las Vegas, which required directing the Las Vegas Wash into tunnels which run under Lake Las Vegas and into Lake Mead.

The Las Vegas area is limited to about 300,000 acre feet (370,000,000 m³) of water each year from Lake Mead, with credits for water it returns to the lake. The allocations were made when Nevada had virtually no people or agriculture. The allocations were also made during a wet string of years which overstated the available water in the entire watershed. As a result, precipitation that is below normal for a few years can have a major impact on the Colorado River Reservoirs.

Early Vegas depended on the aquifer which fed the springs, but the pumping of water from these caused a large drop in the water levels and ground subsidence over wide areas of the valley. Today, the aquifers are basically used to store water that is pumped from the lake during periods of low demand and pumped out during periods of high demand.

[edit] Urbanization

The population doubling time in the greater metropolitan area was under ten years since the early 1970s and the Las Vegas metropolitan area now has a population of over two million people. This rapid population growth led to a significant urbanization of desert lands into industrial and commercial areas, but, by and large, low-density, single-family tract homes (see suburbia).

[edit] Economy
Interior of a casino. A major part of the city economy is based on tourism including gambling.
Interior of a casino. A major part of the city economy is based on tourism including gambling.

The driving force is the tourism industry. In the past the casinos were the one major attraction. Now shopping, conventions and fine dining are also major forces in attracting the tourist dollar. With about 130,000 hotel rooms, as of 2005, to fill, the conventions help fill the hotels, destination restaurants, and shopping malls on the Strip.

There is a balance between all of the tourist operations in town. The conventions need hotel rooms, dining, and entertainment options. The hotels need the conventions, and tourists to fill their rooms. The restaurants depend on travelers in the hotel rooms to fill their tables. Everyone depends on a good road system to get travelers into town as well as available and reasonably priced airline seats.

Over the past few years, retirees have been moving to the valley driving businesses that support them, from housing to health care.

Las Vegas has been trying to expand its manufacturing and research base. There have been some positive signs from the World Market Center being developed in the city and opening of Lou Ruvo Alzheimer's Institute in 2007 in addition to many smaller businesses.

While the cost of housing spiked up over 40% in 2004, the lack of business and income taxes still makes Nevada an attractive place for many companies to relocate to as well as expand into. Being a true 24 hour town, call centers have always seemed to find Vegas a good place to find workers willing to work at all hours.

Construction is strong. New strip casinos take years to build and employ thousands of workers. The same could be said of the housing boom with new home sales around 15,000 units in 2004. With the introduction of Turnburry Towers several years ago, developers discovered that the was a large demand for high-end condominiums. At the end of 2004, it was estimated that as many as 80 major condominiums were in various stages of development.

[edit] Housing

Slab-on-grade foundations is the common base for residential buildings in the area.

Traditionally housing consisted primarily of single family detached housing. Apartment complexes generally were two story buildings. There have been exceptions, but they were few and far between. In the 1990s, Turnberry Associates constructed the first high rise condominium. Prior to this there were only a handful of mid rise multi family housing.

By the mid 2000s, there was a major move into high rise condominiums which had a noticeable impact on the skyline, especially in the area around The Strip.

[edit] Las Vegas Neighborhoods

* Alliante
* Alta Drive/Scotch 80's/Rancho Circle/Rancho Bel Air
* Anthem
* Blue Diamond
* Centennial Hills
* Desert Shores
* Green Valley
* Lake Las Vegas
* Los Prados
* Painted Desert
* Paradise Palms
* Mountains Edge
* Queensridge
* Rancho Sierra Estates
* Seven Hills
* Southern Highlands
* Summerlin
* The Lakes
* West Las Vegas — area bordered by Carey to the North, Bonanza to the South, MLK to the West, and I-15 to the East. Contains many "letter" streets, streets named after Presidents, and streets named after jewelry.

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