Las Vegfas Valley 



^JHHE LAS VEGAS VALLEY, with an area of some 700 square miles, 

 contains upwards of 200,000 acres of arable land, not including the 

 JL mesa lands along the slopes of the mountains. The elevation at Las 

 ^ Vegas is 2,026 feet, the rainfall averages 4 to 5 inches annually, and 

 the summers are long and sometimes hot. The heat, however, never produces 

 sunstroke or prostration as in the humid regions, and the nightfall invariably 

 brings a comfortable lowering of temperature. Snow falls once in a decade. 

 The region is essentially a healthy one, blessed with excellent water and 

 pure air. 



The characteristic soil is a sandy loam, requiring the assistance of water 

 to display its great fertility. Successful agriculture has been practiced in the 

 valley for years, and there is evidence that the aborigines tilled the land before 

 the white men came. 



More than anything else, the discovery of artesian water has given impetus 

 and breadth to agricultural pursuits in the valley. The area of the artesian 

 water, as at present defined, is about 1 5 miles long and from 3 to 5 miles 

 broad, and these boundaries are continually being extended. Within the definite 

 belt, flowing water may be reached with absolute certainty; it is impossible to 

 predict the quantity, but, whatever the flow, it will more than compensate for 

 the cost of tapping it. The artesian water lies at from 1 00 to 500 feet below 

 the surface ; while the natural springs in the mountains are cold, the flowing 

 wells have a temperature of about 72 degrees, which fits them admirably for 

 irrigation purposes. The geological explanation of the abundance of artesian 

 water is that the streams to the north, as well as the accumulation from the 

 adjacent mountains, find subterranean passage through the valley to the Colo- 

 rado River. Surface water may be reached anywhere at from 1 to 70 feet, 



A SHADY NOOK ON A LAS VEGAS RANCH. 



