PrintCities In Peril: Las Vegas
The Survival of Las Vegas
It’s hard to think about Las Vegas without images of stereotypical excess: gambling, bachelor(ette) parties, luxurious hotels, swimming pools, golf in the desert, posh fountains, celebrities, major music, and entertainment acts, and famous restaurateurs. On the one hand, it may seem incongruous that Las Vegas and the surrounding Clark County, which receive only 4 inches of rain per year on average and lie within one of the driest regions on Earth (Figure 5) (as discussed in Module 1), are also home to one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S. (Figure 6; See also the interactive link in the caption below). On the other hand, it may be surprising that Las Vegas is among the most water-conscious cities in the nation, and as discussed below, despite rapid economic and population growth over the past two to three decades the city has managed to live within the limits of its relatively meager allocation of water from the Colorado River, the main water source for the region (see Colorado River Compact).
