Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas*
* while water supplies last
by Al Shaw, Abrahm Lustgarten, Jeff Larson and Naveena Sadasivam, ProPublica, and Haisam Hussein, Special to ProPublica, June 2, 2015
In 1971, the Las Vegas metro area was home to 262,000 people. Today, the population is approaching 2 million. Since 1990, its footprint has more than doubled. Managing urban growth is critical to the future of the West's precious — and declining — water supplies. Las Vegas has grown faster than any other Western city in recent years, even as the water crisis has grown more acute.
City
Hover to move backward and forward in time
In 1971, the Las Vegas metro area was home to 262,000 people. Today, the population is approaching 2 million. Since 1990, its footprint has more than doubled. Managing urban growth is critical to the future of the West's precious — and declining — water supplies. Las Vegas has grown faster than any other Western city in recent years, even as the water crisis has grown more acute.
Vegas Water History
Sources: USGS, NASA/USGS Landsat, Google, U.S. Census, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Southern Nevada Water Authority, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Justice, State of Nevada Division of Water Resources, Wyoming State Water Plan, U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management, Clark County Office of Public Communication.
Other Cities
Twenty of the nation's largest cities are in Western states that receive water from the Colorado River. And those cities are expected to grow. Phoenix is forecast to nearly double. Two million people will move to Denver. Another million will settle in San Diego. Here's a look at how the West is becoming a regional "megalopolis."
Phoenix
| 1960 | |
| 2015 |
Los Angeles
| 1959 | |
| 2015 |
Denver
| 1960 | |
| 2015 |
San Diego
| 1958 | |
| 2015 |
Tucson
| 1959 | |
| 2015 |
