Visit numerous other Parks and Cities by World from the Web.
Situated in a valley near the southern tip of Nevada, Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains to the west and north (Mt. Charleston is almost 12,000' tall) and Lake Mead and the Colorado River to the south and east. The city covers 85 square miles, but is part of a much larger metropolitan area. At an elevation of 2175', it is in a low desert region. This means that in the summer it bakes (typical highs are over 105F), fall and spring are pleasant and the winters are mild. At only a little over 4" of rain per year, it is very dry even for a desert. The low humidity makes the summer heat much more tolerable. The city is serviced by 1 major airport, McCarren. It is just south of all the casinos on the strip. Mass transit is limited to bus service although many of the casinos are linked by a tram service. Taxi cabs (at least on the Strip) are readily available. The population is 441,230 people in 1998 although the county (Clark County) has a population of 1,321,319, most of whom live in the metro area. Las Vegas can easily get over 30,000,000 people a year who visit the city with over 120,000 casino and hotel rooms available it can accomodate the visitors.
Las Vegas became into being because of a spring just north of the downtown (Las Vegas=the meadows). Las Vegas became a regular stop on the southern emigrant route to California, the Spanish Trail after 1829. Although the Mormons started to develop the area in the 1850s, there was little development until 1902. Then much of the land was sold to a railroad company. The area that is now downtown was subdivided when the tracks came through. As a railroad town, Las Vegas grew with a good number of businesses, hotels, saloons and gambling houses. The railroad contracted in the mid 1920s, but the Depression-era development of the huge Hoover Dam (then known as Boulder Dam) gave the city new life. The project commenced in 1931, providing jobs and growth in the short term and water and power for the city's long-term growth. That same year, Nevada legalized gambling and simplified its divorce laws, paving the way for the first big casino on the Strip, the El Rancho, which was built by Los Angeles developers and opened in 1941. The next wave of investors, also from out of town, were mobsters like Bugsy Siegel, who built the Flamingo (still on the strip) in 1946 and set the tone for the new casinos - big and flashy, with lavish entertainment laid on to attract high rollers. The mob has since been replaced by corporate companies running the casinos (some old timers still grumble and lament how the corporations don't treat people well like they did when the mob ran the town), but one thing hasn't changed. The casino resorts keep getting bigger and flashier, and the face of the strip as well as the greater area is constantly changing.
The Las Vegas economy is based upon the tourist and entertaiment industries. It is known as the "Adult Disneyland" of the world. Originally set up around gambling, the casinos have become family friendly over the last 10 years, offering diverse themed acivities. Not only gambling, but reknowned for golfing, auto racing, conventions, amusement parks with wild rides, restaurants (not just buffets anymore), luxurious hotels and amenities, shopping, top name concerts and entertainment, quick weddings (and divorce) and outdoor recreation (great hiking and even winter skiing). Las Vegas is also a regional government center, supports a booming real estate market and the Nellis Air Force Base.
Known as "Vegas", "Lost Wages" and "Silicone Valley", it is the entertainment capital of the world by many standards. Downtown has Glitter Gulch, the small intimate casinos and the Fremont Street Experience. Further south is the Strip, which at about 5 miles of length, is packed with huge theme style resorts and casinos. Other areas include the casinos along Boulder Highway and the development of Henderson (1st city south of Las Vegas), with new casinos and resorts. For those who want to get away from the casinos, Boulder City has a town ordinance that does not allow casinos in its city limits. The mega development of Summerlin, west of the city, offers a life style seen more and more in the Las Vegas area, one not directly connected to the casinos. There are also many outdoor areas of tremendous natural beauty within an hour of Las Vegas and are listed and linked near the bottom of this page.
All pictures on this website are from Las Vegas, using various film and digital cameras. The pictures will be presented as a tour, starting on the southern end of the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd near McCarren Airport) at Mandalay Bay and finishing at the Fremont St experience (downtown Las Vegas). The pictures below on this page are from the southern end of the strip, near Tropicana Rd. A total of 6 pages make up this Las Vegas site. At the bottom of this page, connections to links exist for four various national and state park areas in Southern Nevada.
Visit numerous other Parks and Cities by World from the Web.
The wave pool at Mandalay Bay. Currently, this is the southernmost major casino on the strip.
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Sphinx and the pyramid shaped Luxor. South of Tropicana Rd, a tram runs from the Mandalay Bay to the Luxor and ending at the Ex-Calibur.
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Sphinx at the Luxor.
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Egyptian scene inside the Luxor.
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Belly Dancer at the Luxor.
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The skyline from NY NY casino, at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip.
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The MGM casino, at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip.
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The Lion at the MGM entrance, circa 1995. As the previous picture showed, the Lion has changed.
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Inside the MGM casino, the Lion Habitat.
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The Wizard of Oz at the MGM, circa 1995. A complete redesign and facelift has occurred since then.
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The pool waterfall and Hotel Tower at the Tropicana casino.
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Please visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area by World from the Web. This includes the Hoover Dam.
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (Toiyabe National Forest) by World from the Web. This includes the almost 12,000' Mt Charleston.
Red Rocks National Conservation Area by World from the Web. This includes large canyons nearby to Las Vegas.
Valley of Fire State Park by World from the Web.
