Why were settlements started in places like Vegas and Pheonix if they weren’t connected to a river that connected to the ocean like the Mississippi River for trade and had no viable farmland?

Question

Why were settlements started in places like Vegas and Pheonix if they weren’t connected to a river that connected to the ocean like the Mississippi River for trade and had no viable farmland?

In: 4650

Answer 1

Phoenix has (or at least had, or occasionally has) rivers, and people have lived near them for thousands of years. Indigenous people in the Southwest and other parts of the Americas were quite skilled at irrigation techniques. Nothing like the Mississippi, but what is?

Phoenix also gets a lot more rain than you’d think, and hasn’t been as consistently hot as it is these days. It’s always been hot, yes, but not just global warming but the insane heat island the city creates is not necessarily the natural state of things. Drive from downtown Phoenix to another part of the valley that’s less urbanized, especially at night. You might be shocked at the temperature difference.