Editing Clark County, Nevada (section)

==History==

[[Las Vegas]], the state's most populous city, has been the [[county seat]] since its establishment. The county was formed by the [[Nevada Legislature]] by splitting off a portion of [[Lincoln County, Nevada|Lincoln County]] on February 5, 1909, and was organized on July 1, 1909.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Nevada|last=Squires|first=C. P.|publisher=Nevada's Online State News Journal|page=801|url=http://www.nevadaobserver.com/History%20Of%20Clark%20County%20(1912).htm|access-date=July 25, 2009|editor=Sam P. Davis|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720033737/http://www.nevadaobserver.com/History%20Of%20Clark%20County%20%281912%29.htm|archive-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schoenmann |first=Joe |date=January 4, 2009 |title=A year for history as county turns 100 |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jan/04/year-history-county-turns-100/ |work=[[Las Vegas Sun]]}}</ref> The [[Las Vegas Valley (landform)|Las Vegas Valley]], a {{convert|600|sqmi|abbr=on}} basin, includes Las Vegas and other major cities and communities such as [[North Las Vegas]], [[Henderson, Nevada|Henderson]], and the [[unincorporated community]] of [[Paradise, Nevada|Paradise]].

Native Americans lived in the Las Vegas Valley beginning over 10,000 years ago. Paiutes moved into the area as early as AD 700.<ref>Moehring, Eugene P.; & Green, Michael S. (2005). Las Vegas: A Centennial History. University of Nevada Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-87417-615-8 </ref> Previously part of the Mexican Territory of [[Alta California]], the Clark County lands were subsequently traversed by American [[beaver]] trappers. Word of their journeys inspired the New Mexican merchant [[Antonio Armijo]] in 1829 to establish the first route for mule trains and herds of livestock from [[New Mexico|Nuevo Mexico]] to Alta California through the area, along the [[Virgin River|Virgin]] and [[Colorado River]]s. Called the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)#Armijo Route|Armijo Route]] of the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail]], the route was later modified into the [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)#Main Route|Main Route]] by the passing merchants, trappers, drovers, Ute raiders and settlers over the years by moving to a more direct route. In Clark County it was northward away from the Colorado to a series of creeks, waterholes and springs like those at [[Las Vegas]], to which [[John C. Frémont]] added [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)#Frémont's Cutoff|Frémont's Cutoff]] on his return from California to Utah in 1844.

What is now Clark County was acquired by the United States during the [[Mexican–American War]], becoming part of the northwestern corner of [[New Mexico Territory]]. In 1847, [[Jefferson Hunt]] and other [[Mormon Battalion]] members returning to [[Salt Lake City]] from [[Los Angeles]] pioneered a wagon route through the County that became the [[Mormon Road]]. In 1849, this road became known as the "Southern Route", the winter route of the [[California Trail]] from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles during the [[California Gold Rush]]. By the mid-1850s, the route now known as the Salt Lake Road in California, and the California Road in [[Utah Territory]], was a wagon trade route between the two. In the mid-1850s, Mormons established a [[Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park|Mormon Fort]] at [[Las Vegas]]. In the 1860s, Mormon colonies were established along the Virgin and [[Muddy River (Nevada)|Muddy River]]s.

All of the county was part of [[Mohave County, Arizona|Mohave County]], [[Arizona Territory]], when that Territory was formed in 1863, before Nevada became a state. In 1865, it became part of [[Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory]]. The part of Pah-Ute County north and west of the Colorado River was assigned to the new State of Nevada in 1866; however, Arizona territory fought the division until 1871. Pah-Ute County became part of Lincoln County and the westernmost part became the southernmost part of [[Nye County, Nevada|Nye County]].

Clark County was named for [[William A. Clark]], a [[Montana]] copper magnate and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pitts|first1=Stanley Thomas|title=An Unjust Legacy: A Critical Study of the Political Campaigns of William Andrews Clark, 1888-1901|date=May 2006|publisher=M.S. thesis|location=University of North Texas|page=205|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5251/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804115922/http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5251/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf |archive-date=August 4, 2016 |url-status=live|access-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref> Clark was largely responsible for construction of the [[Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad|San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad]] through the area, contributing to the region's early development. Clark County is a major tourist destination with 150,000 hotel rooms. The [[Las Vegas Strip]], home to many famous hotel-casinos, is not within the City of Las Vegas limits, but in unincorporated Paradise. It is, however, in the [[Las Vegas Valley]].

Clark County is geographically coextensive with the [[Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area|Las Vegas MSA]], a [[metropolitan statistical area]] designated by the [[Office of Management and Budget]] and used by the [[United States Census Bureau]] and other agencies for statistical purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List4.txt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209034353/http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List4.txt|archive-date=February 9, 2006|title= Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Components, December 2005, with codes|access-date=March 23, 2007}}</ref> Over time and influenced by [[climate change]], [[drought]]s in Southern Nevada have been increasing in frequency and severity,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2022/feb/15/west-megadrought-worsens-to-driest-in-at-least-120/ |title=West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years |website=Las Vegas Sun|date= February 15, 2022|access-date=May 27, 2022|author-first1=Seth|author-last1=Borenstein|via=Associated Press}}</ref> putting a further strain on Clark County's and Las Vegas's [[water security]].