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
Vegas was originally an oasis; a meadow of springs; that’s all that was required for a small town back then. Not to mention a railway area. Time has changed the landscape, but the foundation and history is already present so it’s remained an icon and solid infrastructure.
Vegas has water from the Colorado River. Prior to the introduction of gambling, it was tiny. The population in 1940 was a bit over 8,000. Even after the introduction of gambling, it still had less than 25,000 inhabitants in 1950. But gambling is really profitable (for the casinos) and the money drew more people and it has grown, using Colorado river water. If gambling get turned off, it will shrink really fast and will be a tiny fraction of its current size in a few years.
Vegas was nothing until the mob decided to build a casino there in the 1940’s. Population in 1940 was 8000.
The invention of air-conditioning played a huge roll in it. All across the southwest, places that were insufferable became livable.
Vegas was founded where it was first by Mormons as a sort of rest stop hzlfway along a trade route. It got built up when the railroad was being laid down through there.
I would guess that for cities like vegas, they’re built less for the perfection of where they specifically are, and more because they happen to be convenient for another purpose
[This city (Phoenix) should not exist. It is a monument to Man’s arrogance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE)
Las Vegas actually means The Meadows in Spanish. It wasn’t a barren desert when it was settled but rather grasslands fed by natural springs (the Las Vegas Springs).
Phoenix is similar. It sits along the Salt River and that river created a pretty fertile valley that supported agriculture.
So yes, while these cities are massive metropolises bc of aqueducts etc, the premise that they didn’t have water or vegetation when they were settled isn’t true.
The invention of air-conditioning played a huge roll in it. All across the southwest, places that were insufferable became livable.
[This city (Phoenix) should not exist. It is a monument to Man’s arrogance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PYt0SDnrBE)
Southern Arizona used to have running water. Rivers like the Gila provided water and habitat until large-scale irrigation dried them out. Cotton , citrus, and cattle are thirsty crops. The Hohokam lived in the PHX area for two thousand years and created 135 miles of irrigation canals. The Tucson area has also been continuously inhabited for thousands of years.
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