Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas metropolitan area, also known as the Las Vegas-Paradise Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of Clark County. A central part of the metropolitan area is the Las Vegas Valley, a 600-square-mile (1600 km²) basin in which is located the metropolitan area's largest city, Las Vegas. 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, whose name is sometimes used to denominate the entire region. The metropolitan area's population was estimated at 1,836,333 in 2007.

Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the many tourist destination buildings in the area. As seen from space, Las Vegas is the brightest city on earth.

History

The area was previously settled by Mormon farmers in 1854 and later became the site of a United States 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 gaming 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 to 2006.

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 in terms of geographic area. Due to this reason, the valley has seen more mid- and high-rise buildings erected.

Boundaries

Aside from the federal government's definition of the metropolitan area's boundaries, several unofficial definitions are employed by local governments and area residents. Most definitions agree on the inclusion of the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, the Las Vegas Strip, Summerlin, and the unincorporated communities of Winchester, Paradise, Enterprise and Spring Valley.

The government of Clark County defines an "Urban Planning Area" of Las Vegas.[1] This definition is a roughly rectangular area, about 20 miles from west to east and 30 miles from north to south. It is generally as described above. Notable exclusions include Boulder City, Red Rock, Blue Diamond and Mount Charleston. For historical reasons including its ban on gambling, Boulder City is sometimes noted as outside the metropolitan area; however, the growth of Las Vegas in recent years has made this distinction harder to maintain.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department exercises jurisdiction over Clark County, including areas as far away from Las Vegas as Laughlin, about 90 miles from downtown Las Vegas, but excluding cities with separate police forces such as North Las Vegas and Henderson.

The United States Census Bureau defines the Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump combined statistical area, which includes all of Clark County as well as the community of Pahrump in southern Nye County, about 75 miles from downtown Las Vegas.

Local residents often use the term "Las Vegas Valley" as a synonym for "metropolitan area", but this is a misnomer, as the valley is in fact a basin. The basin 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.

(Read more)