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Place Name
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Las Vegas
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Place Status (Type)
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city
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Capital Of
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Clark County
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Population
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258,295 (1990)
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Location
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Clark County, Nevada (NV), United States, North America
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Latitude
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36°12'N
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Longitude
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115°13'W
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Las Vegas
, city (
83 sq mi/215 sq km; 1990 pop.
258,295),  Clark co., SE Nev.; 36°12'N 115°13'W. Elev.
2,025 ft/617 m. Only the N ½
of physical city (much of it commercial) is inc. The area generally S
of Sahara Ave., including the Las Vegas Boulevard gambling and
entertainment dist. (the Strip) is uninc., and its pop. is counted as
part of the uninc. cities of Paradise and Winchester. It is the largest
city in Nev. and one of the fastest growing cities in the country,
which is largely caused by an influx of retirees and the growth of
industries that support the retirement community. The city's pop.
increased by more than 56% bet. 1980 and 1990. It is considered
the gambling capital of the world; gambling was legalized in
1931. Revenue from hotels, gambling, entertainment, and other
tourist-oriented industries forms the backbone of Las Vegas's economy.
Its nightclubs, casinos, and championship boxing matches are world
famous, and entertainment enterprises have led to an increasing array
of music, sports, and gambling centers up and down the Strip, a.k.a
“Glitter Gulch.” The city is also the commercial hub of a ranching
and mining area. Mfg. (paper prods., printing and publishing, apparel,
chemicals, signs, machinery, gaming equip. and devices, electronics,
dairy prods., fabricated metal prods., lumber, bldg. materials,
hardware, beverages, jewelry, cut stone and stone prods., furniture,
consumer goods). In the 19th cent., Las Vegas was a watering place for
travelers to S Calif. In 1855-1857 the Mormons maintained a fort
there, and in 1864, Fort Baker was built by the U.S. Army. In 1867, Las
Vegas was detached from the Ariz. Territory and joined to Nev. Its main
growth began with the completion of a RR in 1905. The Univ. of Nev. is
in uninc. S part of city. Large Nellis Air Force Bombing and Gunnery
Range to the NE of the city; Hoover Dam is
25 mi/40 km SE, forms large L. Mead (L. Mead
Natl. Reservoir Area). Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Park at Las
Vegas Boulevard and Washington Ave. Floyd Lamb State Park to NW. Mt.
Charleston, in Toiyabe Natl. Forest to W. Desert View Natural Area to
NW. Indian Springs Air Force Base to NW. Valley of Fire State Park to
NE. Pabco Gypsum Mines 14 mi/23 km to NE.
McCarran Internatl. Airport in S uninc. part of city. Convention Center
in uninc. S part of city. Nev. State Mus.; Las Vegas Natural History
Mus. Inc. 1911.
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