Las Vegas is located in a broad desert valley in extreme southern Nevada and almost surrounded by mountains that are roughly 2,000 to 10,000 feet higher than the valley floor. The Las Vegas Valley itself is about 600 square miles and runs from the northwest to the southeast, sloping gradually upwards on each side towards the surrounding mountains. To the west of the Las Vegas Valley are the Spring Mountains, which includes Mount Charleston, the region’s highest peak at 11,918 feet. The north side of the valley is bordered by the Sheep Mountain Range, while the southern end is marked by the Bird Spring Mountain Range, McCullough Mountain Range and Black Mountain. To the east, Sunrise and Frenchman Mountain separate the valley from Lake Mead. The Las Vegas Valley itself slopes downward from west to east. This affects the local climatology significantly in terms of driving variations in wind, temperature, precipitation and storm runoff.Las Vegas is commonly noted for its abundant sunshine throughout the year and hot summer temperatures which reach into the triple digits. The coldest of winter nights will see temperatures drop into the 20s, with readings in the teens or lower experienced only in the most severe cold outbreaks. The Spring Mountains immediately west of the valley as well as the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California frequently act as barriers to moisture moving in from the Pacific. It is primarily these features which limit the number of days each year that precipitation falls in Las Vegas and help make Las Vegas the driest major metropolitan area in the continental United States. During the cold season months,Snow itself has fallen in about two-thirds of the winter seasons at least once, however, it usually melts as it falls. Measurable snow at the official climate station typically occurs once every four or five years, however, higher elevations on the valley’s west side such as the Summerlin area see measurable snow about every three years or so.
In the warm season months, typically in July and August, a push of moisture associated with the monsoon moves into the Mojave Desert bringing higher than average humidity and triggering scattered thunderstorms. These storms typically develop in the mountains surrounding the Las Vegas Valley and then move into the valley itself. While the gusty winds associated with them occasionally do cause damage, other times the main impact from these storms is the heavy rain they unleash that triggers flash flooding. The flash floods that do result from thunderstorms often sweep down normally dry washes or cause water to poor into low-lying areas. By September, the monsoon typically wanes and the first break from the intense heat of summer is experienced.
History of Las Vegas Strip
On May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico, John C. Frémont led a group of scientists, scouts, and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers into the Las Vegas Valley.[9] On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young assigned 30 missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the PaiuteIndian population to Mormonism. A fort was built near the current downtown area that served as a stopover for travelers along the “Mormon Corridor” between Salt Lake and the briefly thriving colony of saints at San Bernardino, California. Mormons abandoned Las Vegas in 1857, during the Utah War. Las Vegas was established as a railroad town on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres (45 ha) owned by theSan Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad in what is now downtown Las Vegas was auctioned off. Among the railroad’s most notable owners and directors were Montana Senator William A. Clark,Utah Senator Thomas Kearns, and R.C. Kerens of St. Louis.Las Vegas was part of Lincoln Countyuntil 1908, when it became part of the newly established Clark County. The St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church near 4th and Bridger in downtown was founded in 1910. Las Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911; Peter Buol was the first mayor.Las Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails to the west, and became a popular railroad town in the early 20th century Travel Guides in USA. It was a staging point for mines in the surrounding area, especially those around the town of Bullfrog, that shipped goods to the rest of the country. With the proliferation of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important, but the completion of the nearby Hoover Dam in 1935 resulted in growth in the number of residents and increased tourism. The dam, located 30 mi (48 km) southeast of the city, formed Lake Mead, the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the US. Today, tours are offered into lesser-known parts of the dam. The legalization of gambling in 1931 led to the advent of the casino hotels for which Las Vegas is famous. Major development occurred in the 1940s, “due almost entirely” to the influx of scientists and staff from the Manhattan Project, an atomic bomb research project of World War II. Atomic test watching parties were sometimes thrown. American organized crime figures such as Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky managed or funded most of the original large casinos. The rapid growth of Las Vegas is credited with dooming Galveston, Texas; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and other major gaming centers in the 1950s.
Location
It will not be an exaggeration to say that Las Vegas Strip is a Beautiful Place For Vacations. Ninety nine percent of Las Vegas is like any other large American city, although with an unusually impressive setting, flanked in most directions by distant rocky mountains, close to the clear waters of Lake Mead and with a particularly mild climate – hot in summer (up to 110°F) but a pleasant 70 to 90°F for most of the year. It is the fastest growing city in the US for obvious reasons but this growth is likely to cause problems at some time in the future, especially with ensuring a sufficient supply of water.