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

r/explainlikeimfive should really be renamed to “My original understanding of my question was wrong”.

99% of questions here have false premises. Just do a Google search before asking.