| OCR Text |
Show worked in this economy. However, by the time Spanish explorers entered the Region in the middle l6th Century, this prior civilization was gone and only small settlements of Indians remained, but the economic base was still agriculture. Steady progressive growth of the Region's economic activity did not start until the middle of the 19th Century when the pioneers crossed the continent by land to capitalize on the gold rush in California. Even with this occurrence, settlement was along the travel routes and active growth was slow. Near the end of the 19th Century, the discovery of gold, silver, and other metals in the Region created a boom in the mining industry and it became the dominant support for the regional economy. During World War II, a more diversified and expanding economy began to evolve. Hoover Dam's power plant provided a source of plentiful elec- tricity for industry. The yearlong climate was favorable to military training activities and the advent of air conditioning tempered the harsh- ness of the hot summer months. Las Vegas, Nevada, with its flamboyant entertainment industry; Lake Mead, Lake Havasu, and Lake Mohave on the Colorado River; and the lakes formed behind the dams on the Salt, Verde, and Gila Rivers in central Arizona invited recreationists, hunters, and fishermen. The affluent economy that developed during the war started a tourist influx to the arid Southwest to escape the cold winter months occurring elsewhere. Light industry followed to capture a labor pool and to utilize the yearlong working environment. By 1965, the total gross output from manufacturing was nearly twice that of mining and agriculture combined, and the noncommodity producing activities were almost four times as great as these two historic activities. Population and Its Distribution From a population standpoint, the Region is a part of the fastest growing area in the United States. In the 15-year period from 1950 to 1965, the population more than doubled. About two-thirds of the 1965 population resided in the three metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. In I960, population distribution was classified as about lh percent urban and 26 percent rural. In the Little Colorado Subregion, which con- tains no large cities, the ratio of urban to rural is almost exactly reverse that of the Region, being 72 percent rural and 28 percent urban. Employment and Income Of the total 1965 population of 1,877,000 people, some 675,000 were classified as employed. See Figure 2. The total personal income for the Lower Colorado Region in 1965 was approximately $4.3 billion, or an average 18 |
