Mesquite is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in the northeast corner of Clark County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

adjacent to the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

state line and northeast of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 20,471. The city is located in the

Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...

valley adjacent to the Virgin Mountains in the northeastern part of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

. It is home to a growing retirement community, as well as several casino resorts and golf courses.

History

Franklin S Leavitt residence Mesquite Clark County Nevada

Mesquite was settled by

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

pioneers in 1880, who called it ''Mesquite Flat''. The community was finally established on the third attempt after having been flooded out from the waters of the Virgin River. The name was later shortened to Mesquite, and the city was incorporated 1984. The community was named for the

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for some plants in the genera ''Neltuma'' and '' Strombocarpa'', which contain over 50 species of spiny, deep-rooted leguminous shrubs and small trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. Until 2022, these ge ...

timber near the original town site. Mesquite, like nearby Bunkerville, had its origins in farming. The Peppermill Mesquite casino, which opened in the 1970s, drove Mesquite's diversified economy. The city incorporated in 1984 and established a master development plan during the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, more casinos opened. By 2006, Mesquite was one of the fastest-growing small towns in the United States, though the

late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

led to the closure of the

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment

Geography

Mesquite occupies the northeast corner of Clark County. The eastern border of the city is the

state line. The city is in the

valley, occupying the northern side of the river. The city lies adjacent to the Virgin Mountains in the northeastern Mojave Desert near the southern mouth of the Virgin River Gorge.

passes through the city, leading southwest to downtown

and northeast to St. George, Utah. Nevada State Route 170 leads south from the center of town, crossing the Virgin River into the unincorporated community of Bunkerville before looping back to I-15 at the western city limits of Mesquite. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Mesquite has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.40%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 15,276 people, 8,911 houses, 6,378 Houses occupied, and 4,444 families residing in the city. The population density was in the year 2000. There were 4,442 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.27% Asian, 0.98% Native American, 0.65%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 14.56% from other races, and 2.17% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 24.75% of the population. There were 3,498 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. Of all households, 20.4% were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,392, and the median income for a family was $42,941. Males had a median income of $27,083 versus $24,402 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $20,191. About 6.2% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city of Mesquite is a part of the Clark County School District. There are four public schools in the valley. Mesquite has a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, a branch of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

Climate

Located within the Mojave Desert, Mesquite experiences a

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

with a large degree of

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

. Roughly 500 ft lower than Las Vegas, Mesquite is typically about 3 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than Las Vegas during the day. Unlike Las Vegas, Mesquite lacks an

urban heat island Urban areas usually experience the urban heat island (UHI) effect; that is, they are significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent when winds ar ...

. This makes low temperatures noticeably more comfortable in the summer, but means winter nights are colder. Like other weather stations in the Mojave and Sonoran desert, the annual temperature cycle is asymmetric, with a seasonal lag of roughly 1 month in summer, and a seasonal lead in winter. The hottest time of the year on average is July 21, with an average high of 106 and low of 72. Conversely, the normal high temp drops to the lowest value of the year, 57 degrees, and low of 28 on December 16, approximately 6 days before the winter solstice. This seasonal lag in summer and seasonal lead in winter can be found in other climate stations in the same region.

Media

In 1987, the Virgin Valley's first newspaper, ''The Desert Echo'', began distribution out of a local home on Riverside Road. ''The Desert Valley Times'' emerged by 1995, and ''The Desert Echo'' merged with ''The Desert Valley Times'' in 1998. Around 2000/2001,

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

–based ''The Spectrum'' (a

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

newspaper) bought and distributed ''The Desert Valley Times''. Moapa Valley based ''Mesa Valley Progress'' covers Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley news.

Economy

Mesquite is home to several casinos, including the Virgin River Casino,

CasaBlanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, Eureka, and Stateline Casino and Motel. The city also includes Rising Star Sports Ranch, a non-gaming hotel and sports facility. The Virgin Valley Heritage Museum has exhibits about area pioneers and local history. The museum building, built in 1940, is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Mesquite is a stopping point for those traveling along I-15 between

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Las Vegas, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Mesquite is also a destination for year-round

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, with over nine public courses in the warm desert climate, it draws golfers from all over. Mesquite Airport provides facilities for general aviation and skydiving. It previously hosted the annual RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship until 2015.

Notable people

* Cresent Hardy, politician * Jerry Montgomery, football coach * Stephen Paddock, mass shooter responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas Shooting * William Redd, businessman

References

External links

City of Mesquite official website

Official State of Nevada Tourism site

Mesquite Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 1880 establishments in Nevada Cities in Clark County, Nevada Cities in Nevada Populated places established in 1880