> the fact that human beings could not exist for nontrivial periods in the Nevada Desert That ain't really a fact; native peoples have lived in said desert for

> the fact that human beings could not exist for nontrivial periods in the Nevada Desert That ain't really a fact; native peoples have lived in said desert for thousands of years, and settlers for hundreds. The actual fact is that back in those days the population was small enough for the desert to support and flexible enough to adapt to said support. Vegas in particular is situated "somewhere that's advantageous to ordinary economic conduct". So is Reno. That's indeed a big part of why they've been able to grow and stay grown (instead of collapsing as rapidly as they're established, like the average mining town). The problem is that the rivers supporting them (and the lakes/reservoirs supporting them) ain't infinite in capacity, not that they're entirely nonexistent.