Tourism in Extreme Environments

The Example of Las Vegas

Southern Nevada

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/

McCarran Intl. Airport (664m) in Las Vegas

Growth of the city

• 1972-2010

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdxHAggOmB4

• http://www.lasvegas.com/listing/a-day-at-valley-of-fire/6019/tour/591/

Challenges

Water supply

• LAKE MEAD, Nev. — The sinuous Colorado River and its slew of man-made reservoirs from the Rockies to southern Arizona are being sapped by 14 years of drought nearly unrivaled in 1,250 years. (NY Times, January 6, 2014, “Colorado River Drought Forces a Painful Reckoning for States”)

• Hoover Dam (1935)

• Lake Mead

Flash Flood• A flood caused by heavy or excessive rainfall

in a short period of time, generally less than 6 hours. Flash floods are usually characterized by raging torrents after heavy rains that rip through river beds, urban streets, or mountain canyons sweeping everything before them. They can occur within minutes or a few hours of excessive rainfall. They can also occur even if no rain has fallen, for instance after a levee or dam has failed, or after a sudden release of water by a debris or ice jam.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfln50LhUbw

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mrx/hydro/flooddef.php (National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office)

Electricity

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNSDWXFbsl0