Geography and Climate
Located in a dry and semiarid desert, Las Vegas is a town that literally appears from nowhere. The Las Vegas landscape is composed mostly of rocks and dirt with desert vegetation and shrubs. Due to its geographical location, the city of Las Vegas sits on North America’s largest water shed known as the Great Basin. Surrounded by large geographical barriers like the Sierra Nevada and Wasatch Mountain range the Great Basin retains water shed and does not allow water to drain into the ocean (1). Now this would make you think that water would be abundant on the surfaces, but actually most of the water makes its way into what is known as a “basin-fill aquifer” (2).
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The water table is generally bellow ground and safe from the semiarid temperatures on the surface. Located in the Mojave Desert, Las Vegas can see both cold and hot temperatures. During winter months, Las Vegas can reach 20 °F, while desert months can reach into the hundreds (3). Recently in June 30, 2013, Las Vegas reached a blistering 117 °F, the only other day in recorded history that it reached this temperature was July 24, 1942. One way to easily identify that you are heading to Las Vegas is the iconic Yucca brevifolia commonly known as Joshua Tree.
Reference
1. Estes, M.B. (May 2009). Palepindian Ossupations in the Great Basin: A Comparative Study of Lithic Technological Organization, Mobility, Landscape Use from Jakes Valley, Neveda. Retrieved from http://www.unr.edu/Documents/liberal-arts/anthropology/estes-thesis09.pdf
2. Regional Assessment of Groundwater Quality in the Basin and Range, Rio Grande, Coastal Basins, and Central Valley Aquifer Systems of the Southwestern United States. (Jan. 2013). Retrieved from http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/praq/swpa/
3. Monthly Average temperatures for Las Vegas, NV. Retrieved from http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNV0049
Images (From left to right)
1. Retrieved from http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNV0049
2. Retrieved from http://www.mtbikenevada.com/
3. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joshua_Tree_NP_-_Joshua_Tree_2.jpg
1. Estes, M.B. (May 2009). Palepindian Ossupations in the Great Basin: A Comparative Study of Lithic Technological Organization, Mobility, Landscape Use from Jakes Valley, Neveda. Retrieved from http://www.unr.edu/Documents/liberal-arts/anthropology/estes-thesis09.pdf
2. Regional Assessment of Groundwater Quality in the Basin and Range, Rio Grande, Coastal Basins, and Central Valley Aquifer Systems of the Southwestern United States. (Jan. 2013). Retrieved from http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/studies/praq/swpa/
3. Monthly Average temperatures for Las Vegas, NV. Retrieved from http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNV0049
Images (From left to right)
1. Retrieved from http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USNV0049
2. Retrieved from http://www.mtbikenevada.com/
3. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joshua_Tree_NP_-_Joshua_Tree_2.jpg