Southern Nevada is the region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

 of Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

 which includes the Las Vegas Valley. Southern Nevada also includes the areas in and around Goldfield

Goldfield, Nevada

Goldfield is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States, with a resident population of 440 at the 2000 census. It is located about southeast of Carson City, along U.S...

, Hawthorne

Hawthorne, Nevada

Hawthorne is a census-designated place in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mineral County...

, Pahrump

Pahrump, Nevada

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 24,631 people, 10,153 households, and 7,127 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 82.7 people per square mile . There were 11,651 housing units at an average density of 39.1 per square mile...

, and Pioche

Pioche, Nevada

-External links:*...

. Geographically, Southern Nevada is partly, and in some cases, fully within the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

. The population of the region, as measured by the 2000 U.S. Census, is 1,432,004, though the Las Vegas valley has now increased to over 2,000,000 itself.

Higher education

The only higher education centers in Southern Nevada are located within Clark County. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada-Las Vegas is a public, coeducational university located in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, USA. The campus is located approximately east of the Las Vegas Strip. The institution includes a Shadow Lane Campus, located just east of the University Medical Center of...

 (UNLV) is in Paradise

Paradise, Nevada

Paradise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census...

, about three miles (5 km) south of the city limits and roughly two miles east of the Strip. The University of Nevada

University of Nevada, Reno

The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...

 Medical School

Medical school

A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...

 has a campus near downtown Las Vegas. Several national colleges, including the University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix

The University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group Inc. which is publicly traded , an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona...

, have campuses in the Las Vegas area. Nevada State College

Nevada State College

Nevada State College is a four-year public college located in Henderson, Nevada, and is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education...

 and Touro University Nevada

Touro University Nevada

Touro University Nevada, , is a private non-profit institution of higher and professional education. Its campus is located in Henderson, Nevada. A sister campus, Touro University - California, is located in Mare Island, California. These two institutions make up the Touro Western Division,...

 are both in nearby Henderson

Henderson, Nevada

-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...

. The College of Southern Nevada has campuses in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson. Henderson also is home to DeVry University and the Keller Graduate School of Management, as well as the University of Southern Nevada. Other private entities in the Las Vegas Valley include Apollo College

Apollo College

Carrington College, formerly known as Apollo College, is a privately held, for-profit institution of higher education. Carrington College, along with co-operating division Carrington College California, is owned and operated by Carrington Colleges Group, Inc. a subsidiary of DeVry Inc. Carrington...

, National University

National University (California)

National University , founded in 1971, is a comprehensive, nonsectarian, independent, accredited, non-profit private university headquartered in La Jolla, California, United States, with academic degree programs offered at campuses located throughout the state, one in Henderson, Nevada, and...

, ITT Technical Institute

ITT Technical Institute

ITT Technical Institute is a for-profit technical institute with over 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States. ITT Tech is owned and operated by ITT Educational Services, Inc. , a publicly traded company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. ITT Educational Services, Inc...

.

Transportation

The RTC Transit provides public transportation to much of the Las Vegas Valley.

Interstates 15, 515, and US 95 lead out of Southern Nevada in all four directions. Two major freeways - Interstate 15 and Interstate 515

Interstate 515

Interstate 515 is a spur of Interstate 15 that runs from the junction of I-15, US 93 and US 95 near Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada approximately southeast to Railroad Pass near the borders of Henderson and Boulder City....

/U.S. Route 95 - cross in downtown Las Vegas. I-15 connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and heads northeast to and beyond Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. I-515 goes southeast to Henderson, beyond which US 93

U.S. Route 93 in Nevada

In the U.S. state of Nevada, U.S. Route 93 is a major U.S. highway traversing the eastern edge of the state. The highway connects the Las Vegas area to the Great Basin National Park, and provides further connections to Ely and Wells...

 continues over the Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...

 towards Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

. US 95 connects the city to northwestern Nevada, including Carson City and Reno. US 93 splits from I-15 northeast of Las Vegas and goes north through the eastern part of the state, serving Ely and Wells, and US 95 heads south from US 93 near Henderson through far eastern California. A three-quarters beltway has been built, consisting of Interstate 215

Interstate 215 (Nevada)

The Las Vegas Beltway is the name of the beltway route circling three-quarters of the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. The Las Vegas Beltway carries two numerical designations. Approximately of the beltway, from its southern terminus at Interstate 515/U.S. Route 93/U.S...

 on the south and Clark County 215 on the west and north. Other radial routes include Blue Diamond Road (SR 160) to Pahrump

Pahrump, Nevada

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 24,631 people, 10,153 households, and 7,127 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 82.7 people per square mile . There were 11,651 housing units at an average density of 39.1 per square mile...

 and Lake Mead Boulevard (SR 147) to Lake Mead

Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...

.

McCarran International Airport

McCarran International Airport

McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...

 handles international and domestic flights in Southern Nevada. Also, The Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

 is the only class one railroad to provide rail freight service to Southern Nevada.

Economy

A major part of Southern Nevada's economy is based on tourism, including gambling. The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have been the confluence of tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

, gaming, and conventions

Convention (meeting)

A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...

 which in turn feed the retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 and dining

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 industries. The city serves as world headquarters

Headquarters

Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...

 for the world's two largest Fortune 500

Fortune 500

The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...

 gaming companies, Harrah's Entertainment

Harrah's Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a private gaming corporation that owns and operates over 50 casinos, hotels, and seven golf courses under several brands. The company, based in Paradise, Nevada, is the largest gaming company in the world, with yearly revenues $8.9 billion...

 and MGM Mirage

MGM Mirage

Not to be confused with the Las Vegas, Nevada based casino/resort operator Resorts International Holdings.MGM Resorts International is a Paradise, Nevada based corporation that brands itself as a global hospitality company. It is the second largest gaming company in the world by revenue - about...

.

Tourism also benefits the areas around Pahrump, which as served as a bedroom community of Las Vegas. Prostitution is also legal in areas of Southern Nevada, outside of Clark County.

Topography

The Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 and Great Basin Desert

Great Basin Desert

The Great Basin Desert is an area of nearctic high deserts across parts of Nevada, California, and Utah that extends into the Colorado River watershed , but which is mostly a portion of the central Nevada desert basins of the Great Basin.It along with the Escalante Desert, Mohave Desert, the...

 cover all or most of Southern Nevada. Man made lakes, seasonal, and dry lakes periodically dot the landscape. Examples of these are Lake Mead

Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...

, Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas is located in Henderson, Nevada. Lake Las Vegas refers to both a man made lake and to the area built around the lake. The area is sometimes referred to as the Lake Las Vegas Resort...

 and the Ivanpah Dry Lake

Ivanpah Dry Lake

Ivanpah Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California on the border of California and Nevada. Nestled in the Ivanpah Valley near Primm on Interstate 15, the lake is almost entirely within California. At the north edge of the lake lie the Nevada Welcome Center ...

.

Counties

Southern Nevada generally consists of 5 counties, which when combined form a total regional area of roughly 43765 square miles (113,350.8 km²). The counties commonly included in the region are as follows:

• Clark County
  Clark County, Nevada
  -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
  
  
• Esmeralda County
  Esmeralda County, Nevada
  Esmeralda County is a county in the west of U.S. state of Nevada. Its county seat is Goldfield. Its 2000 census population was officially 971, making its population density 0.1045 inhabitants/km² , the second-lowest of any county-equivalent outside of Alaska. As of 2010, the population had...
  
  
• Lincoln County
  Lincoln County, Nevada
  Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 4,165. Its county seat is Pioche.-History:...
  
  
• Mineral County
  Mineral County, Nevada
  Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 5,071. In 2009, it was estimated to have dropped to 4,662. Its county seat is Hawthorne.-History:...
  
  
• Nye County
  Nye County, Nevada
  -National protected areas:* Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Death Valley National Park * Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest * Spring Mountains National Recreation Area -Demographics:...