[NJ Brazen_3133]

How big is the Las Vegas metropolitan area in square miles?

I dont mean the Las Vegas Valley basin. Wiki says that is 600 sq mi. That is less than twice the size of the City of Los Angeles, and Morris County NJ (just outside NYC). I am just trying to compare it to other major metros.

Does LV not have as much room to expand as Southern California? Like LV, SoCal also has mountains hemming it in. But aside from LA City, there is the South Bay, SGV, OC etc, etc to sprawl into.

From my hotel room, I can see lights already touching the base of the mountains surrounding LV. Has LV already reached its limit? Will they start expanding upwards?

[yellowsnow]

Google says 135.9. Probably correct. The mountains are a natural boundary and the next issue is the fact that a whole lot of Nevada is owned by the Federal Government. Clark County is always trying to get them to release land for development. https://thenevadaindependent.com/art...or-development

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133

How big is the Las Vegas metropolitan area in square miles?

I dont mean the Las Vegas Valley basin. Wiki says that is 600 sq mi. That is less than twice the size of the City of Los Angeles, and Morris County NJ (just outside NYC). I am just trying to compare it to other major metros.

Does LV not have as much room to expand as Southern California? Like LV, SoCal also has mountains hemming it in. But aside from LA City, there is the South Bay, SGV, OC etc, etc to sprawl into.

From my hotel room, I can see lights already touching the base of the mountains surrounding LV. Has LV already reached its limit? Will they start expanding upwards?

Las Vegas is never likely to run out of land. Water may limit its growth if anything. It can grow in a number of directions and has huge acreage left. It can for instance go to the south along 15 virtually all the way to the CA line. And it can go for miles yet to the NW along 95. And there are a number of develop-able valleys to the NE.

Whether the water problem can be solved is another matter. Things like paying for So CA or Mexican desalinization plants are being discussed. That water would be traded for Colorado River water.

[kttam186290]

The Las Vegas Metro Area is officially composed of Clark County and Nye County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona.

As for patterns of urban/suburban development, it can potentially expand up into Lincoln County at Coyote Springs. It can expand south into the El Dorado Valley below Boulder City, west into Pahrump or east into Mohave County, Arizona with the developments planned at White Hills.

Laughlin and Bullhead City are already within the Las Vegas-Paradise-Kingman Metropolitan area.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

The Las Vegas Metro Area is officially composed of Clark County and Nye County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona.

As for patterns of urban/suburban development, it can potentially expand up into Lincoln County at Coyote Springs. It can expand south into the El Dorado Valley below Boulder City, west into Pahrump or east into Mohave County, Arizona with the developments planned at White Hills.

Laughlin and Bullhead City are already within the Las Vegas-Paradise-Kingman Metropolitan area.

Wow. That's a stretch. All those miles of nothing? Hard to call that a metropolitan area!

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

Wow. That's a stretch. All those miles of nothing? Hard to call that a metropolitan area!

Metropolitan areas don't just begin and end "where lights touch the hills."

I'm sorry to sound rude, but that's a childish way of trying to understand what constitutes a metro area.

They are a mixture of urban, suburban, exurban and rural areas. This is true of any Metropolitan Area in the United States.

[basnobua]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Metropolitan areas don't just begin and end "where lights touch the hills."
I'm sorry to sound rude, but that's a childish way of trying to understand what constitutes a metro area.

Childish is probably a bit strong given the recondite nature of a combined statistical area as a conceptual matter. Furthermore, in the local parlance, Las Vegas Metro and Las Vegas Valley are used almost interchangeably (if somewhat incorrectly).

[cre8lite]

interesting webpage, offers a different opinion than kktam's viewpoint:

https://statisticalatlas.com/metro-a...Vegas/Overview

[DM86]

Vegas is not completely surrounded by mountains, so yes, there is still physical room to grow.

[justthe2ofus]

Originally Posted by DM86

Vegas is not completely surrounded by mountains, so yes, there is still physical room to grow.

Plus all the 'in-fill' that could take place, particularly in the SW side of town.