Las Vegas Valley
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Left-right from top:Las Vegas Strip,Stratosphere Tower,Fremont Street Experience,Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas,Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area,The District at Green Valley Ranch
Interactive Map of Las Vegas–Henderson, NVCSA   City of Las Vegas   City of Henderson   City of North Las Vegas   Town of Enterprise   Town of Spring Valley   Town of Sunrise Manor   Town of Paradise   Town of Whitney   Town of Winchester   City of Boulder City   Nellis Air Force Base   Las Vegas–Henderson–North Las VegasMSA (Remainder)
Country	United States
State	Nevada
Largest city	Las Vegas
Other major cities	-Henderson  -North Las Vegas  -Enterprise  -Spring Valley  -Sunrise Manor  -Paradise  -Whitney  -Winchester  -Boulder City
Area
• Urban	1,400 km2 (540 sq mi)
• Metro	4,100 km2 (1,600 sq mi)
Population  (2024 estimate)
• Metropolitan Statistical Area	2,421,685
GDP [1]
• MSA	$160.7 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Area codes	702 and 725

TheLas Vegas Valley is a majormetropolitan area in thesouthern part of theU.S. state ofNevada, and the second largest in theSouthwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, theLas Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is coextensive since 2003 withClark County, Nevada.^[2] The Valley is largely defined by the Las Vegas Valley land formation, a 600 sq mi (1,600 km²)basin area surrounded by mountains to the north, south, east and west of the metropolitan area. The Valley is home to the three largest incorporated cities in Nevada:Las Vegas,Henderson andNorth Las Vegas.^[3] Eleven unincorporated towns governed by the Clark County government are part of the Las Vegas Township and constitute the largest community in the state of Nevada.^[4]

The namesLas Vegas andVegas are interchangeably used to indicate the Valley,the Strip, and the city, and as a brand by theLas Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to denominate the region.^[5][6] The Valley is affectionately known as the Ninth IslandbyHawaii natives and Las Vegans alike, in part due to the large number of people originally from Hawaii who live in and regularly travel to Las Vegas.^[7]

Since the 1990s, the Las Vegas Valley has seen rapid growth, tripling its population from 741,459 in 1990 to 2,227,053 estimated in 2018, increasing to 2,421,685 in 2024.^[8] The Las Vegas Valley remains one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States. In its relatively short history, it has established a diverse presence in international business, commerce, urban development, and entertainment, as well as one of the most visited tourist attractions destinations in the world. In 2014, a record-breaking 41 million people visited the Las Vegas area, producing agross metropolitan product of more than $100 billion.^[9]

The first reported non-Native American visitor to the Las Vegas Valley was theMexican scoutRafael Rivera in 1829.^[10][11][12] Las Vegas was named by Mexicans in theAntonio Armijo party,^[4] including Rivera, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along theOld Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 19th century, areas of the valley containedartesian wells that supported extensive green areas, ormeadows, hence the nameLas Vegas (vegas being Spanish for "meadows").^[11]

The area was previously settled byMormon farmers in 1854 and later became the site of aUnited 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 agambling center as well as aresort destination, primarily targeting adults.

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.

BusinessmanHoward Hughes arrived in the late 1960s and purchased many casino hotels, as well as television and radio stations in the area. Legitimate corporations began to purchase casino hotels as well, andthe mob was run out by the federal government over the next several years. The constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels and casinos was augmented by a new source of federal money from the establishment of what is nowNellis Air Force Base. The influx of military personnel and casino job-hunters helped start a land building boom which is now leveling off.^{[according to whom?]}

The Las Vegas area remains one of the world's top entertainment destinations.^[13][14]

The valley is contained in the Las Vegas Valley landform. This includes the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, and the unincorporated towns ofSummerlin South,Paradise,Spring Valley,Sunrise Manor,Enterprise,Winchester andWhitney. The valley is located within the larger metropolitan area, as the metropolitan area covers all of Clark County including parts that do not fall within the valley.

The government of Clark County has an "Urban Planning Area" of Las Vegas. This definition is a roughly rectangular area, about 20 mi (32 km) from east to west and 30 miles (48 km) from north to south. Notable exclusions from the "Urban Planning Area" includeRed Rock,Blue Diamond andMount Charleston.

TheLas Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is the largest police department in the valley and the state and exercises jurisdiction in the entire county. There are approximately 3,000 police officers who cover the city of Las Vegas; unincorporated areas; the town of Laughlin, about 90 mi (140 km) fromDowntown Las Vegas; and desert, park, and mountain areas within Clark County. The department does not exercise primary jurisdiction in areas with separate police forces such as North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Nellis Air Force Base and the Paiute reservation.

The metropolitan area was created for the 1970 census when it only included Clark County. In 2000, the metropolitan area was changed to includeNye County, Nevada andMohave County, Arizona,^[15][16][17] but it later returned to only being Clark County.

TheOffice of Management and Budget has designated Clark County as the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[18] TheUnited States Census Bureau ranked the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area as the31st most populousmetropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.^[19]

The Office of Management and Budget has further designated the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area as a component of the more extensive Las Vegas–Henderson, NV CSA,^[18] the27th most populouscombined statistical area and the30th most populousprimary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.^[19][20]

The Las Vegas Valley lies in theMojave Desert. The valley in the northwest section is a northwest-by-southeast^[21] trending area, and trending parallel to Las Vegas Wash, lies at the northeast of theSpring Mountainsmassif.

U.S. Route 95 leaves Las Vegas's northwest and goes northwesterly through the northwest valley section with Las Vegas Wash about 2 miles (3 km)^[22] northeast. U.S. 95 lies on the southwest perimeter of the valley bottomlands and smallalluvial fan areas from the northeast Spring Mountains border southwest.

A "distorted surface",^[23] aplaya-like region, occurs at the farthest northwest area, for about 15 to 18 miles (24 to 29 km), starting fromState Route 157. AtState Route 156, 10 miles (16 km) northwest, the distorted surface, bottom land turns north, a 6 miles (9.7 km) area in length and about 3 miles (4.8 km) wide. It lies at the south drainage section of theThree Lakes Valley, where awater divide separatesDog Bone Lake in the valley's center from the southwest washes that drain into the Las Vegas Valley (upland Las Vegas Wash).

TheCorn Creek Dunes lie about 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Route 156's intersection with U.S. 95 and they are slightly northeast of Las Vegas Wash.

The Las Vegas Valley is around 1,600 square miles (4,100 km²).^[24] All perimeters, except the northwest, are foothills or mountain ranges, with all highway routes entering the foothills; this includes theInterstate 15 to the southwest, as it climbs toJean Pass (north), before traversingIvanpah Valley. Only the U.S. Route 95 northwest follows an actual valley. The northwest section, thus describes the entire landform as a central, and large valley with an attached feeder valley northwest, and in this case the northwest source, and actual course of the Las Vegas Wash.

The valley is a fault-bounded structural and hydrologic basin^[25] made of alluvial-fan deposits. There are several aquifers contained within the valley including the Las Vegas Aquifer. These heavily depleted water sources exist at about 660–980 feet (200–300 m) in depth.^[25] As of 1986, estimate show that the valley floor inDowntown Las Vegas has subsided by about 6.2 feet (1.9 m) and about 2.9 feet (0.88 m) alongThe Strip as a result of pumping from these aquifers.^[26]

The Las Vegas Valley lies in a relatively high-altitude portion of theMojave Desert, with asubtropicalhot-desert climate. The Valley generally averages less than 5 in (130 mm) of rain annually.^[27] Daily daytime summer temperatures in July and August typically range from 100 °F (38 °C) to 110 °F (43 °C), while nights generally range from 72 °F (22 °C) to 80 °F (27 °C).^[27] Very low humidity, however, tempers the effect of these temperatures, thoughdehydration,heat exhaustion, andsun stroke can occur after even a limited time outdoors in the summer. The interiors of automobiles often prove deadly to small children and pets during the summer and surfaces exposed to the sun can causefirst- and second-degree burns to unprotected skin. July and August can also be marked bymonsoon season, when moist winds from theGulf of California soak much of theSouthwestern United States. While not only raising humidity levels, these winds develop into dramatic desert thunderstorms that can sometimes causeflash flooding.

Winter days in metropolitan Las Vegas range from mild to quite chilly, and sunny most days; while winter itself is of short duration. Winter highs in December and January usually range from 52 °F (11 °C) to 60 °F (16 °C), while nighttime lows range from 34 °F (1 °C) to 42 °F (6 °C).^[27] The mountains surrounding the valley are snow-covered during the winter season, but snow accumulation in the metropolitan area itself is uncommon. Every few years apart, however, Las Vegas does get a small measurable snowfall.

Spring and fall are generally dry and with hot, sunny days and cool nights.

The valley is an active earthquake zone crossed by multiple fault and thrust lines. These include the 20-mile (32 km) long Frenchman Mountain Fault capable of a magnitude 7 event, Whitney Mesa Fault, Cashman Fault, Valley View Fault, Decatur Fault, Eglington Fault and the West Charleston Fault.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Having part of the region in a desert basin creates problems withair quality. From the dust the wind picks up, to the smog produced by vehicles, to the pollen in the air, the valley has several bad air days.

Pollen can be a major problem several weeks a year, withcounts occasionally in the 70,000-plus range. Local governments are trying to control this by banning plants that produce the most pollen.

The dust problems usually happen on very windy days, so they tend to be short and seasonal. Full-fledged dust storms are rare.

Smog, on the other hand, gets worse when there is no wind to move the air out of the valley. Also, in winter it is possible for aninversion to form in the valley.

Since manufacturing is not a dominant industry of Las Vegas, and with Clark County working to controlair quality problems, success has been shown over the years.

The nativeflora does little to help thesoil retain water. During the intense rains ofmonsoon season or (relatively) wet months of January and February, a network of dry natural channels, called washes orarroyos, carved into the valley floor allows water to flow down from the mountains and converge in theLas Vegas Wash which runs through theClark County Wetlands Park. The wash system used to form a large natural wetlands which then flowed into theColorado River, until the construction ofHoover Dam on the Colorado River led to the creation of Lake Mead. Further development in the 1980s and 1990s madeLake Las Vegas, which required directing the Las Vegas Wash into tunnels which run under Lake Las Vegas and intoLake Mead.

Nevada receives an allocation 300,000 acre-feet (370,000,000 m³) of water^[34] each year from Lake Mead, with credits for water it returns to the lake. The allocations were made with theColorado River Compact when Nevada had a much smaller population and very little agriculture. The allocations were also made during a wet string of years, which overstated the available water in the entire watershed. As a result, precipitation that is below normal for a few years can significantly affect the Colorado River reservoirs. The Las Vegas area uses most of this allocation withLaughlin, Nevada using most of the remaining allocation. In June 2007, the price of a cubic meter was 57 cents in Las Vegas.^[35] Las Vegas gets around 90 percent of its water from Lake Mead.^[36]

Early Vegas depended on theaquifer which fed the flowing springs supporting the meadows that gave the area its name, but the pumping of water from these caused a large drop in the water levels and ground subsidence over wide areas of the valley. Today, the aquifers are basically used to store water that is pumped from the lake during periods of low demand and pumped out during periods of high demand.

The population doubling time in the greater metropolitan area was under ten years, since the early 1970s and the Las Vegas metropolitan area now has a population approaching three million people.^[8] This rapid population growth led to a significanturbanization of desert lands into industrial and commercial areas (seesuburbia).

Four-segment panorama of the Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace (left to right) from the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Bellagio fountains.

The driving economic force in Las Vegas is thetourism industry. The area has about 150,000 hotel rooms, more than any other city in the world.^[37] In the past, casinos and celebrity shows were the two major attractions for the area. Nowshopping,conventions,fine dining, and outdoor beauty^{[clarification needed]} are also major forces in attracting tourist dollars.

Las Vegas serves as world headquarters for the world's largestFortune 500 gaming company,MGM Resorts International.^[38] Several companies involved in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines, such asslot machines, are located in the Las Vegas area. In the first decade of the 21st century, shopping and dining have become attractions of their own. Tourism marketing and promotion are handled by theLas Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a county-wide agency. Its annual Visitors Survey provides detailed information on visitor numbers, spending patterns, and resulting revenues.^[39]

While Las Vegas has historically attracted high-stake gamblers from around the world, it is now facing tougher competition from the UK, Hong Kong and Macau (China), Eastern Europe and developing areas in the Middle East.^[40]

Las Vegas has recently enjoyed a boom in population and tourism. The urban area has grown outward so quickly that it bordersBureau of Land Management holdings along its edges. This has led to an increase in land values such that medium- and high-density development is occurring closer to the core. TheChinatown of Las Vegas was constructed in the early 1990s on Spring Mountain Road. Chinatown initially consisted of only one large shopping center complex, but the area was expanded with shopping centers that contain various Asian businesses. Over the past few years, retirees have been moving to the metro area, driving businesses that support them from housing to health care.

While the cost of housing spiked up over 40% in 2004, the lack ofbusiness andincome taxes still makes Nevada an attractive place for many companies to relocate to or expand existing operations. Being a true twenty-four-hour city,call centers have always seemed to find Las Vegas a good place to hire workers who are accustomed to working at all hours.^{[citation needed]}

Theconstruction industry accounts for a share of the economy in Las Vegas. Hotel casinos planned for the Strip can take years to build and employ thousands of workers. Developers discovered that there was demand forhigh-endcondominiums.^[41] By 2005,more than 100 condominium buildings were in various stages of development,^[42] however, in 2008, the construction industry went into a downturn due to theGreat Recession, though the industry has since seen a rebound.

In 2000, more than 21,000 new homes and 26,000 resale homes were purchased. In early 2005, there were 20 residential development projects of more than 300 acres (120 ha) each underway. During that same period, Las Vegas was regarded as the fastest-growing community in theUnited States.

Other promising residential and office developments have begun construction aroundDowntown Las Vegas. New condominium and high-rise hotel projects have changed the Las Vegas skyline dramatically in recent years. Many large high-rise projects are planned for Downtown Las Vegas, as well as the Las Vegas Strip.^[43]

Construction in Las Vegas is a major industry and quickly growing with the population. In March 2011, construction employed 40,700 people and is expected to grow with the recovering economy.^[44] Since the mega resorts that define Las Vegas today began going up in the early 1970s, construction has played a vital role in both commercial and non commercial developments. Cranes are a constant part of the Las Vegas Skyline. At any given time there are 300 new homes being constructed in Las Vegas.^{[citation needed]} In addition, in recent years^[when?] Las Vegas has seen a spike in high-rise housing units. New suburban master planned communities are also becoming common in Las Vegas ever sinceThe Howard Hughes Corporation began work on Summerlin, an upper-class community on the west side of the valley.

The massiveCityCenter project, byMGM Mirage, broke ground on the Strip in 2006.^[45] It put a massive strain on the construction ability and workforce of the area due to number of laborers and amount of materials required. Because of this, prices of almost any construction project in Las Vegas doubled.^{[citation needed]} The project was completed in 2009 and includes multiple hotels and condominiums, as well as shopping and a casino. At a cost of $8.5 billion, it is the most expensive privately funded construction project in U.S. history.^[46]

The Tropicana Hotel, opened in 1957, will be demolished in April 2025 in order to create a new baseball stadium.^[47]Bally's Corporation, the owner of the hotel, indicated that upon completion of the stadium it would further develop the site.^[48]

Traditionally, housing consisted primarily ofsingle-family detached homes.Slab-on-grade foundations are the common base for residential buildings in the valley.Apartments generally were two-story buildings. Until the 1990s, there were exceptions, but they were few and far between. In the 1990s,Turnberry Associates constructed the first high rise condominium towers. Prior to this, there were only a handful of mid-rise multi-family buildings. By the mid-2000s, there was a major move into high rise condominiums towers, which affected the region'sskyline around the Strip.

The Las Vegas Valley is home to various suburbanmaster planned communities that include extensive recreational amenities such as lakes, golf courses, parks, bike paths and jogging trails. Planned communities in the valley includeAliante,Anthem, Cadence, Centennial Hills,Green Valley, Inspirada,Lake Las Vegas,The Lakes,Mountain's Edge, Peccole Ranch, Providence,Rhodes Ranch,Seven Hills, Skye Canyon,Southern Highlands, andSummerlin.

Some technology companies have either relocated to Las Vegas or were created there. For various reasons, Las Vegas has had a high concentration of technology companies in electronic gaming and telecommunications industries.^{[further explanation needed]}

Some current technology companies in southern Nevada include:Bigelow Aerospace,Petroglyph,Switch Communications, US Support LLC, Fanatics, andZappos.

In 2015,Electric vehicle startupFaraday Future has chosen North Las Vegas's Apex Industrial Park for its $1 billion car factory.

Companies that originally were formed in the Las Vegas region, but have since sold or relocated includeWestwood Studios (sold toElectronic Arts),Systems Research & Development (Sold toIBM),Yellowpages.com (Sold toBellSouth andSBC), and MPower Communications.

The major attractions in the Las Vegas Valley are the hotel/casinos. These hotels generally consist of large gambling areas, theaters for live performances, shopping, bars/clubs, and several restaurants and cafes. There are clusters of large hotel/casinos located in bothdowntown Las Vegas and on theLas Vegas Strip. The largest hotels are mainly located on the Strip,^[49] which is a four-mile section of Las Vegas Boulevard. These hotels provide thousands of rooms of various sizes. Fifteen of the world's 30 largest hotels by room count are on the Strip, with a total of over 62,000 rooms. There are many hotel/casinos in the city's downtown area as well, which was the original focal point of the Valley's gaming industry. Several hotel/casinos ranging from large to small are also located around the city and metro area. Many of the largest hotel, casino, and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip.

The valley's casinos can be grouped into several locations. The largest is the Las Vegas Strip, followed by Downtown Las Vegas, and then the smallerBoulder Strip. There are also several one-off single standing hotel/casinos dotted around the valley and the metro area.

In 2011, the majority of tourists arrived from the western states (55%) with 31% from California alone. Approximately 16% of tourists arrived from outside North America.^[50]

Las Vegas has expanded its attractiveness to visitors by offering both affordable and high-end merchandise in many shops and shopping malls. Many hotels on the Las Vegas Strip also have adjacent shopping malls, giving the Las Vegas area the highest concentration of shopping malls in any four mile stretch of road. In addition to the malls on the Strip, there are several outlying malls in the City of Las Vegas, Henderson, and the surrounding area. Themonorail, lying somewhat east of the Strip, facilitates north–south travel, including stations at several casinos and theLas Vegas Convention Center.

Major shopping attractions include:

Las Vegas holds many of the world's largest conventions each year, includingCES,SEMA, andConexpo. TheLas Vegas Convention Center is one of the largest in the world with 1,940,631 sq ft (180,290.5 m²) of exhibit space. These events bring in an estimated $7.4 billion of revenue to the city each year, and host over 5 million attendees.^[60][61]

• 
  Las Vegas Boulevard facing south andPlanet Hollywood Las Vegas
• 
  Fremont East
• 
  TheBellagio (left) andCaesar's Palace (right)
• 
  MacDonald Highlands, one of many affluent neighborhoods in the valley
• 
  CityCenter complex
• 
  Wynn Las Vegas
• 
  TheFashion Show Mall
• 
  Fountains of Bellagio
• 
  Crystals at CityCenter
• 
  High Roller
• 
  The Forum Shops at Caesars
• 
  Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
• 
  Las Vegas Arts District
• 
  Seven Magic Mountains

The "First Friday" celebration, held on the first Friday of each month, exhibits the works of local artists and musicians in an area just south of downtown. The city is home to an extensiveDowntown Arts District which hosts numerous galleries, film festivals, and events.^[62]

TheSouthern Nevada Zoological-Botanical Park, also known as theLas Vegas Zoo, used to exhibit over 150 species of animals and plants. The Zoo closed its doors in September 2013.^[63]

TheShark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay is the only aquarium that is accredited by theAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums in the state of Nevada. It features over 2,000 animals and 1,200 species in 1.6 million gallons of seawater.

The $485 millionSmith Center for the Performing Arts is located downtown inSymphony Park. The center is appropriate for Broadway shows and other major touring attractions as well as orchestral, opera, choir, jazz, and dance performances.

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is a facility presenting high-quality art exhibitions from major national and international museums. Past exhibits have included the works ofAndy Warhol,Alexander Calder, andPeter Carl Fabergé. A self-guided audio tour is also offered.

TheLas Vegas Natural History Museum features robot dinosaurs, live fish, and more than 26 species of preserved animals. There are several "hands-on" areas where animals can be petted.

TheAtomic Testing Museum, affiliated with theSmithsonian Institution, houses artifacts from theNevada Test Site and records the dramatic history of the atomic age through a series of interactive modules, timelines, films, and actual equipment and gadgets from the site.

In 2019,The New York Times noted that there was a "burgeoning literary scene" at Las Vegas centered around the Black Mountain Institute, a literature organization at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, and its literary magazine,The Believer.^[64]

The valley is home to numerous other art galleries, orchestras, ballets, theaters, sculptures, and museums as well.

TheLas Vegas Strip in 2004, as seen from the top of the Rio. The Strip is largely withinParadise.

• Boulder City
• Henderson
• Las Vegas
• North Las Vegas

• Sloan

• Las Vegas Review-Journal, the area's largest daily newspaper, is published every morning. It was formed in 1909 but has roots back to 1905. It is the largest newspaper in Nevada and is ranked as one of the top 25 newspapers in the United States by circulation. In 2000, the Review-Journal installed the largest newspaper printing press in the world. It cost $40 million, weighs 910 tons and consists of 16 towers.^[66] The newspaper was owned by casino magnateSheldon Adelson, who purchased the newspaper for $140 million in December 2015. In 2018, the Review-Journal received theSigma Delta Chi Award from theSociety of Professional Journalists for reporting the2017 Las Vegas shooting. In 2018, Editor and Publisher magazine named the Review-Journal as one of 10 newspapers in the United States "doing it right".^[67]
• Las Vegas Sun is a daily 8-page newspaper distributed as a section of the Review-Journal. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated withGreenspun Media Group. The Sun was founded in 1950 and in 1989 entered into aJoint Operating Agreement with the Review-Journal, which runs through 2040. It has been described as "politically liberal."^[68] In 2009, the Sun was awarded aPulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the high death rate of construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip amid lax enforcement of regulations.
• Las Vegas Weekly is a freealternative weekly newspaper based inHenderson, Nevada. It covers Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. Las Vegas Weekly was founded in 1992 and is published by Greenspun Media Group.

Las Vegas is served by 22 television and 46 radio stations. The area is also served by two NOAA Weather Radio transmitters (162.55 MHz located in Boulder City and 162.40 MHz located onMount Potosi).

• Radio stations in Las Vegas
• Television stations in Las Vegas

• Desert Companion
• Las Vegas Weekly
• Luxury Las Vegas

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) provides commercial flights into the Las Vegas Valley. The airport serves domestic, international and cargo flights, as well as some private aircraft.General aviation traffic, however, will typically use the much smallerNorth Las Vegas Airport orother airfields in the county.Public transportation is provided byRTC Transit. Numerous bus routes cover Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and other suburban areas.

TheLas Vegas Monorail runs fromMGM Grand Las Vegas at the south end of the Strip to theSahara Las Vegas at the north end of the Strip.The streetnumbering system is divided by the following streets:

• Westcliff Drive,US 95,Fremont Street andCharleston Boulevard divide the north–south block numbers from west to east.
• Las Vegas Boulevard divides the east–west streets from the Las Vegas Strip to near the Stratosphere, then Main Street becomes the dividing line from the Stratosphere to the North Las Vegas border, after which the Goldfield Street alignment officially divides east and west.
• On the east side of Las Vegas, block numbers between Charleston Boulevard and Washington Avenue are different along Nellis Boulevard, which is the eastern border of the city limits.
• All city street signs begin with aN,S,W orE designation.

Until 1997, theAmtrakDesert Wind train service ran through Las Vegas using theUnion Pacific Railroad (UP) rails that run through the city; Amtrak service to Las Vegas has since been replaced by Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach bus service. Plans to restore Los Angeles to Las Vegas Amtrak service using aTalgo train have been discussed but no plan for a replacement has been implemented. The Las Vegas Amtrak station was located in thePlaza Hotel. It had the distinction of being the only train station located in a casino.

• Harry Reid International Airport
• Henderson Executive Airport
• North Las Vegas Airport
• Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport (planned)

While the Las Vegas area does not have anypassenger rail service,Brightline West intends to revivepassenger trains with ahigh-speed train between theLas Vegas station and theRancho Cucamonga station inGreater Los Angeles.

Las Vegas receives about 30freight trains per day as of 2004^[update], and serves as a district crew change point, requiring all trains to stop in downtown. Freight traffic was 179,284 cars in 2004.^[69]

• RTC Transit
  • Las Vegas Monorail

• Aria Express
• Mandalay Bay Tram
• Hard Rock-Treasure Island Tram

Two major freeways—Interstate 11 (includingUS 93 andUS 95) andInterstate 15—cross in downtown Las Vegas. I-11 goes northwest to theLas Vegas city limits and southeast toHenderson, bypassing downtownBoulder City just to the south, and then to theMike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over theColorado River, from thereU.S. Route 93 continues towardsPhoenix, Arizona. I-11 will eventually be the connection fromNogales, Arizona toInterstate 80 inFernley (near theReno andSparks area). US 95 connects the city to northwestern Nevada, includingCarson City (the state capitol) and Reno. US 93 splits from I-15 northeast of Las Vegas and goes north through the northeastern part of the state, servingEly andWells and US 95 heads south from I-11 and US 93 in Boulder City through far southeastern California. I-15 connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles (viaSan Bernardino) andSan Diego, and heads northeast toSalt Lake City and beyond. A three-quarters of theLas Vegas Beltway has been built, consisting of Interstate 215 on the south and Clark County 215 on the west and north. Other radial routes includeSR 160 toPahrump andSR 147 andSR 564 (former SR 146) toLake Mead.

With the notable exceptions ofLas Vegas Boulevard,Boulder Highway andTonopah Highway (better known as the northern part of Rancho Drive), the majority of surface streets outside downtown Las Vegas are laid out alongPublic Land Survey Systemsection lines. Many are maintained, in part, by theNevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) asstate highways.

East–west roads, north to south^[70]

North–south roads, west to east

Major Freeways

The Las Vegas area is dependent on imported gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel as is most of Nevada, which has only one refinery. The region is dependent on theCalnev Pipeline andUnev pipeline as its two main sources of supply. Limited diesel is delivered to a dedicated terminal in North Las Vegas by rail. Diversified supply was provided by the completion of construction on the Unev pipeline in 2011 and its full operational status in 2012.

About 25% of the electric power from Hoover Dam goes to Nevada,^[71] and about 70% of power to Southern Nevada comes from natural gas fired power stations.^[72]

Las Vegas is home to several notable minor league teams, as well as theUNLV Rebels, and three major professional teams, theLas Vegas Raiders of theNational Football League, theVegas Golden Knights of theNational Hockey League, and theLas Vegas Aces of theWomen's National Basketball Association. TheAthletics ofMajor League Baseball plan to move to Las Vegas in 2028.

Las Vegas has many natural outdoor recreational options.

There are several multi-use trail systems within the valley operated by multiple organizations. TheRiver Mountains Loop Trail is a 35-mile-long (56 km) trail that connects the west side of the valley with Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.^[73]Summerlin offers more than 150 miles of award-winning trails within the 22,500-acre (9,100 ha) community.^[74] There are also the 3-mile (4.8 km) Angel Park Trail, Bonanza Trail, and the county's Flamingo Arroyo Trail,^[75] I-215 West Beltway Trail (5 miles (8.0 km)), I-215 East Beltway Trail (4 miles (6.4 km)), Tropicana/Flamingo Washes Trail and the Western Trails Park Area Equestrian Trails (4 miles).^[76][77]

The Las Vegas Valley also hosts world class mountain biking includingBootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park located in Boulder City which boasts itself as one of the International Mountain Biking Association's "epic rides".^[78]

TheClark County School District operates all of the public primary and secondary schools in the county with the exception of 37 sponsored public charter schools.

Selected private schools

Alexander Dawson School

Bishop Gorman High School

Faith Lutheran Jr/Sr High School

The Meadows School

TheUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is inParadise, about three miles (5 km) south of the Las Vegas city limits and roughly two miles east of the Strip. Several national colleges, including theUniversity of Phoenix andLe Cordon Bleu, have campuses in the Las Vegas area.Nevada State University,National University andTouro University Nevada are nearbyHenderson. TheCollege of Southern Nevada has campuses in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. Henderson also is home toDeVry University, as well as theRoseman University of Health Sciences. The for-profitCarrington College also has a location in the Las Vegas valley.

• Music venues in Las Vegas
• Sports venues in Las Vegas
• City of Rock (Las Vegas)

• Architecture of Las Vegas
• List of Las Vegas Strip hotels
• List of people from Las Vegas
• List of restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley
• Las Vegas shows

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLas Vegas Valley.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forLas Vegas.

• CAC (Civil Applications Committee)/USGS Global Fiducials Program web page containing scientific description of the region and interactive map viewer featuring declassified high-resolution time-series imagery
• City of Las Vegas official website

• Las Vegas Valley
• Combined statistical areas of the United States
• Metropolitan areas of Nevada
• Populated places in the Mojave Desert
• Regions of Nevada
• Valleys of Nevada
• Valleys of Clark County, Nevada
• Valleys of the Mojave Desert

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