Spanning a total area of more than 500,000 square kilometers, The Great Basin Desert is North America's largest desert. It occupies Nevada, more than half of Utah, a small part of Idaho, Oregon, California, and Wyoming.
Speaking of the desert, the first name that crosses the mind has to be Las Vegas.
In 1888, the place was a tiny town. It wasn't until 1905 that a large number of gold miners flooded into the area when gold was discovered. However, like the other gold-rush towns, the gold mines became empty after a brief period of excitement. Las Vegas soon returned to its previous rural state. Its actual rise was during the Great Depression, where the state legislature passed a bill to legalize gambling. It turned the sleepy desert town into a dazzling city filled with hotels, nightclubs, and casinos.