The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States.

[21][22] In 1829, Mexican trader and explorer Antonio Armijo led a group consisting of 60 men and 100 mules along the Old Spanish Trail from modern day New Mexico to California.

This region served as the winter residence for the Southern Paiute people, who utilized the area’s resources before moving to higher elevations during the summer months.

The Spanish “las vegas” or "the meadows" (more precisely, lower land near a river) in English, was applied to describe the fertile lowlands near the springs.

Eleven years later, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies.

Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area.

The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression.

[33] Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas.

Learning from Las Vegas, published during this era, asked architects to take inspiration from the city's highly decorated buildings, helping to start the postmodern architecture movement.

This canopied five-block area features 12.5 million LED lights and 550,000 watts of sound from dusk until midnight during shows held at the top of each hour.

It has been estimated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that over the next 50 years, there is a 10–20% chance of an M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring within 50 km (31 mi) of Las Vegas.

This climate is typified by long, extremely hot summers; warm transitional seasons; and short winters with mild days and cool nights.

[41] While most summer days are consistently hot, dry, and cloudless, the North American Monsoon sporadically interrupts this pattern and brings more cloud cover, thunderstorms, lightning, increased humidity, and brief spells of heavy rain.

December is both the year's coolest and cloudiest month, with an average daytime high of 56.9 °F (13.8 °C) and sunshine occurring during 78% of its daylight hours.

Winter evenings are defined by clear skies and swift drops in temperature after sunset, with overnight minima averaging around 40 °F (4.4 °C) in December and January.

[41] The highest temperature officially observed for Las Vegas is 120 °F (48.9 °C), as measured at Harry Reid International Airport on July 7, 2024.

The vast majority of households in Las Vegas are digitally connected, with 95.6% having a computer and 89.1% subscribing to broadband internet services .

According to demographer William H. Frey using data from the 2010 United States census, Las Vegas has the second-lowest level of black-white segregation of any of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas after Tucson, Arizona.

[55] The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy are tourism, gaming, and conventions, which in turn feed the retail and restaurant industries.

[72] The center of the gambling and entertainment industry is the Las Vegas Strip, outside the city limits in the surrounding unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester in Clark County.

A replica welcome sign, standing nearly 16 feet (4.9 m) tall, was installed within city limits in 2002, at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fourth Street.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh took an interest in the urban area and contributed $350 million toward a revitalization effort called the Downtown Project.

The city is home to an extensive Downtown Arts District, which hosts numerous galleries and events including the annual Las Vegas Film Festival.

[117] North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite, UNLV and CCSD have their own police departments.

[119][120][121] Downtown is the location of Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse[122] and the Regional Justice Center,[123] draws numerous companies providing bail, marriage, divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.

Other institutions include a number of for-profit private schools (e.g., Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, The International Academy of Design & Technology Las Vegas).

Inter-city bus service to and from Las Vegas is provided by Greyhound, BoltBus, Orange Belt Stages, Tufesa, and several smaller carriers.

Silver Rider Transit operates three routes within Las Vegas, offering connections to Laughlin,[138] Mesquite,[139] and Sandy Valley.

Until 1997, the Amtrak Desert Wind train service ran through Las Vegas using the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

I-11 goes northwest to the Las Vegas Paiute Indian Reservation and southeast to Henderson and to the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, where from this point I-11 will eventually continue along US 93 towards Phoenix, Arizona.