Las Vegas is a city in southern Nevada. The seat of Clark County, Las Vegas is found in the Las Vegas Valley, a desert surrounded by the Spring Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Las Vegas serves as the center of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Its population has increased by a factor of 30 since the 1940s-more in contrast to some other major American city. Las Vegas is renowned for tourism, gaming, a dry and vigorous climate, and a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational activities. The city is also booming in manufacturing and industrial employment, within the construction of new houses, along with the development of new service jobs.
Las Vegas and Its Metropolitan Area
The city of Las Vegas covers a land area of 215.2 sq km (83.1 sq mi). In addition to Las Vegas, the city's metropolitan region includes North Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson, Mesquite, along with a great number of unincorporated communities.
The downtown area of Las Vegas, named Glitter Gulch, is characterized by long-established casinos. It's the site of the Fremont Street Experience, a renovation project completed in 1995, made to revitalize the downtown area and entice much more visitors to the street's casinos. Covering a five-block stretch of Fremont Street, this section is a covered pedestrian mall where a large number of lights play out animated scenes overhead. Aside from the casinos and attractions downtown, a lot more are situated on The Strip, a 6-km (4-mi) neon-lined part of Las Vegas Boulevard, located slightly south of downtown. Some of the extravagant casinos on The Strip play on epic Hollywood themes, like the Treasure Island Casino, while others advertise attractions, like an Egyptian pyramid, a medieval castle, or an erupting volcano. Ever-grander casinos open each year, attracting patrons with such draws as replicas of New York City landmarks or even roller-coasters atop tall towers. Away from city lies Hoover Dam, a massive concrete dam which was completed in 1936.
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