For the development of a metropolis, a unique natural environment and a favourable geographical location are essential. Judging from these conditions, today's "Vegas" Las Vegas seems difficult to become a world-famous metropolis. So how did it transform from a desert town to the "Entertainment Capital of the World"?
Las Vegas Night View
Desert Miracle: "Low Wet Water and Grassland"
Las Vegas is located in the southeastern part of Nevada, surrounded by desolate deserts and valleys surrounded by the Gobi. It has a desert-type climate with hot, dry summers, sometimes with temperatures exceeding 40°C, making it the driest city in the country. Of the 280 cities in the United States with a population of 100,000 or more, Las Vegas is dead last in rainfall.
According to archaeologist Mark Harrington, between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, the area we call Southern Nevada today was a well-watered, grassy, swampy area. But as the climate changed, the swamps disappeared, creating a dry, barren desert. Indians began to inhabit the area about 1,000 BC. After Columbus discovered the New World, Europeans gradually explored deeper and deeper into these places and also continued to conduct commercial trade with the locals.
In 1829, Spanish-speaking traders travelling from New Mexico to California discovered an oasis with springs and named the place Las Vegas, which means "low wet water meadow" in Spanish. One historian commented, "The abundance of groundwater in Las Vegas shortened the Spanish trade route to Los Angeles and eased the pain of travellers."
Las Vegas, USA
