Clark County, Nevada
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- If you are looking for information about Las Vegas, see Las Vegas (disambiguation).
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is the most populous county in Nevada (2001 population estimate 1,464,653), and contains the city of Las Vegas. Las Vegas has been the county seat since the county was created by splitting off a portion of Lincoln County on February 5, 1908. Much of the county was originally part of Pah-Ute County, Arizona Territory before Nevada became a state.
Most people do not make a distinction between the County and the City of Las Vegas using Las Vegas to describe both, especially in the Las Vegas Valley area.
Clark County is a major tourist destination having 150,000 hotel and motel rooms as of 2005.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 20,955 km² (8,091 mi²). 20,488 km² (7,910 mi²) of it is land and 467 km² (180 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.23% water.
The Colorado River forms the county's southeastern boundary, with Hoover Dam forming Lake Mead along much of its length. Las Vegas is frequently, yet incorrectly labeled a valley. By definition, Greater Las Vegas is a land basin or bowl, surrounded by four mountain ranges, with nearby Mount Charleston being the highest elevation at 11,918 ft, located to the northwest. Other than the forests on Mount Charleston, the geography in Clark County is a desert. Creosote bushes are the main native vegetation, and the mountains are mostly rocky with little vegetation.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,623 families residing in the county. The population density is 67/km² (174/mi²). There are 559,799 housing units at an average density of 27/km² (71/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 71.58% White, 9.08% Black or African American, 0.79% Native American, 5.27% Asian, 0.47% Pacific Islander, 8.61% from other races, and 4.20% from two or more races. 21.96% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 512,253 households out of which 31.70% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.70% are married couples living together, 11.80% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% are non-families. 24.50% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.70% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.65 and the average family size is 3.17.
In the county the population is spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 103.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $44,616, and the median income for a family is $50,485. Males have a median income of $35,243 versus $27,077 for females. The per capita income for the county is $21,785. 10.80% of the population and 7.90% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.10% of those under the age of 18 and 7.30% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Government
Clark County Government is run by the Clark County Commission which consists of 7 members who are elected to serve staggered 4 year terms in biannual elections. After each election, the members elect a Chairperson who runs the Commission Meetings. Actual day to day operations are handled by the County Manager who is hired by the Commission.
Each Commissioner is elected to represent 1 of 7 districts, designated A-G.
The Commissioners also serve as the Board of the University Medical Center.
The County operates out of the Clark County Government Center located in the City of Las Vegas. The building itself is rather unique in its shape and it includes an Amphitheater where concerts and other events are held.
The Clark County Courthouse is located a block from downtown Fremont Street, at 200 3rd Avenue. Marriage licenses are issued at this location.
ClarkCountyDetention.jpg
The Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) is located another block away at 300 S. Casino Center Blvd. Visitation is by a schedule defined by the housing location of the inmate. Visitors must arrive one hour prior to visitation for check in. Visits are 30 minutes long. Two persons per visit. Each inmate is allowed two visits per week. Valid state or federal issued picture identification is required for all visitors. Persons entering will be searched and checked for warrants (and if needed, arrested). Inmate conversations are monitored since all communications are done via closed-circuit television.
Clark County Commission
Members as of 2005
| District | Expires | Commissioner |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2009 | Bruce L. Woodbury |
| B | 2009 | Tom Collins |
| C | 2009 | Chip Maxfield |
| D | 2009 | Yvonne Atkinson Gates |
| E | 2007 | Myrna Williams |
| F | 2007 | Lynette Boggs McDonald |
| G | 2007 | Rory Reid |
Clark County Regional Flood Control District
The Clark County Regional Flood Control District (CCRFCD) was created in 1985 by the Nevada state legislature allowing Clark County to provide broad solutions to flooding problems. The District has developed plans and so far successfully continued working on a fifty year program to eliminate most flooding from a 100 year flood in the populated areas the CCRFCD is responsible for.
History
The district began it's first project in 1998 funded by a 0.25% sales tax.
As of 2004 approximately $840 million has been spent by the CCRFCD and the US Government on the many projects.
District direction for providing protection
Since Las Vegas is located in a basin with a single outlet, the Las Vegas Wash, all rain runoff drains to the east side of the basin where it will eventually be deposited into Lake Mead. Rainfall in the surrounding mountain ranges, can cause flooding in the area as water flows off the mountains onto the valley floor. The area is also subject to localized weather events. It is possible for an area to receive heavy rainfall in a short time, while nearby areas as close as one or two miles away receive little or no rain. Additional history (http://www.ccrfcd.org/03-history.htm) about past flood events is avaiable as well as some historical rainfall data (http://www.ccrfcd.org/raingauges.htm).
To help alleviate the damage caused by flooding, the Clark County Regional Flood Control District has spent millions of dollars to build detention basins and concrete drainage channels throughout the area. The belief is that these structures will control the flow of water when there is storm runoff and reduce flooding in areas below the basins and near the channels and washes.
Given the topography of the area, some areas may not be fixable. One example being the Flamingo Wash where the channel overflows into the Imperial Palace parking garage during flash flooding events.
How growth has affected plans and development
With the rapid growth occuring in the valley, the plan and finances have not been able to keep up. As a result, developers are deciding to build in areas not yet protected by detention basins or other control measures. This is causing many new home buyers to deal with damage or severe runoff on local streets which are used as flood channels when other facilities are not available.
How weather creates problems
Heavy rain fall can cause localized flash flooding. A thunderstorm hit the northwest part of the city of Las Vegas for two hours in August of 2003, causing some hail damage and considerable water damage. Heavy localized flooding occurred, with property damage reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In February of 2005 the southwest part of the Vegas Valley was hard hit by flooding from the mountain rain fall runoff. Higher than average precipitation that same winter was responsible for significant damage in Mesquite and Overton which, as of that point in time, not recieved much attention since thier populations were so much smaller then in the Las Vegas valley area.
Event detection and notification
In addition to building and maintaining flood control projects, the District also operates a Flood Threat Recognition System of ALERT rain and stream-gauges, with the cooperation of the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Weather Service. This system collects hydrometeorologic data primarily for the purpose of detecting situations which could cause flooding.
Clark County School District
Public primary and secondary education is the responsibility of the Clark County School District.
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Operates the Cat Bus and does planning for most major roadways.
Southern Nevada Water Authority
A multi-agency group that manages the water distribution for the Las Vegas valley.
Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee
The group that manages and protects the Las Vegas Wash.
Since 1999 the group has added more the 15,000 plants to stabilize the wash's banks and restore and expand the wetlands surrounding the wash. As part of the effort to restore the wash to a more natural state, they have also removed more then 500,000 pounds of trash.
Cities and towns
Incorporated cities:
- Boulder City (Gambling is illegal in the city limits)
- Henderson
- Las Vegas (County seat)
- Laughlin
- North Las Vegas
- Mesquite
Townships:
- Blue Diamond
- Bunkerville
- Cal-Nev-Ari
- Enterprise
- Glendale
- Goodsprings
- Indian Springs
- Jean
- Logandale
- Moapa Town
- Moapa Valley
- Mount Charleston
- Mountain Springs
- Overton
- Paradise
- Primm
- Sandy Valley
- Searchlight
- Sloan
- Spring Valley
- Summerlin South
- Sunrise Manor
- Whitney
- Winchester
Federal land:
Internal links
A list of Clark County Airports.
External links
- Clark County, Nevada Government and Services (http://www.co.clark.nv.us/)
- Clark County Television (http://www.co.clark.nv.us/Public_communications/channel4.htm) (County of Clark owned television station with Live Internet Feed)
- Clark County School District (http://ccsd.net/)
- Detailed map of Clark County (ftp://dataworks.library.unr.edu/NVdemog/ftp/counties/clark/maps/CBC32003.pdf) (Census Bureau Map, little street detail) (pdf, 32 Mb)
- Photographic virtual tour of Clark County (http://www.Untraveledroad.com/USA/Nevada/Clark.htm)
- Clark County Regional Flood Control District (http://www.ccrfcd.org/)
| Nevada | 
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| Regions: Great Basin | Mojave Desert | Lake Tahoe | Las Vegas Valley | |
| Largest cities: Carson City | Henderson | Las Vegas | North Las Vegas | Reno | Sparks | |
| Counties: Churchill | Clark | Douglas | Elko | Esmeralda | Eureka | Humboldt | Lander | Lincoln | Lyon | Mineral | Nye | Pershing | Storey | Washoe | White Pine | |