Las Vegas Springs

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Las Vegas Springs

| nrhp_type =

|designated_other1_name=Nevada Historical Marker

|designated_other1_abbr=Marker

|designated_other1_color=#ffc94b

|designated_other1_link=Nevada Historical Markers

|designated_other1_number=40{{cite web |url=http://shpo.nv.gov/nevadas-historical-markers/historical-markers/las-vegas-the-meadows-1 |title=Las Vegas (The Meadows)|work=Nevada’s State Historical Markers |publisher=State Historic Preservation Office |accessdate=April 16, 2017}}

|designated_other1_num_position=both

| image = Springspreserve_rotunda.jpg

| caption = The Desert Living Center rotunda at the Springs Preserve

| location = Las Vegas, Nevada

| nearest_city =

| coordinates ={{coord|36|10|22|N|115|11|22|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline, title}}

| area =

| built =

| architect =

| architecture =

| added = December 14, 1978

| visitation_num =

| visitation_year =

| refnum = 78001719

| mpsub =

| governing_body =

}}

The Las Vegas Springs or Big Springs{{cite news |title=100 Years of Clark County - Big Springs |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |page=2B |date=2009-01-31 }} is the site of a natural oasis, known traditionally as a cienega. For more than 15,000 years, springs broke through the desert floor, creating grassy meadows (called las vegas by Spanish New-Mexican explorers).{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/peopleevents/e_earlyvegas.html |title=People & Events |accessdate=2008-08-25 |work=American Experience |publisher=PBS Online |date=2005-07-11 }} The bubbling springs were a source of water for Native Americans living here at least 5,000 years ago.{{cite web |url=http://gosw.about.com/od/lasvegas/p/springspreserve.htm |title=Las Vegas Springs Preserve - History, Gardens and Community |accessdate=2008-08-25 |archive-date=2008-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212114209/http://gosw.about.com/od/lasvegas/p/springspreserve.htm |url-status=dead }} Known as The Birthplace of Las Vegas it sustained travelers of the Old Spanish Trail and Mormons who came to settle the West. The springs' source is the Las Vegas aquifer.{{cite web |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118930886/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105060803/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118930886/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-05 |title=A REEVALUATION OF THE GROUND WATER BUDGET FOR LAS VEGAS VALLEY, NEVADA, WITH EMPHASIS ON GROUND WATER DISCHARGE |accessdate=2008-08-25 |publisher=JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association |date=2007-06-08 }}

The springs are now a part of the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Las Vegas Springs was once the site of three springs, running into two large pools of water. It is a site historically known for a gathering of pioneers and Native Americans and early settlers in the Las Vegas Valley. In 1905, it provided the water source to the budding town and railroad. Once pipe lines were laid and wells were drilled, the water table dropped, and the springs stopped flowing to the surface in 1962. The site is currently undergoing rehabilitation to protect what remains architecturally and archaeologically.[http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/FactsStatistics/20950.htm City of Las Vegas, Historic Locations > Big Springs/Las Vegas Springs]

Now, it is 180 acres of historic land located just west of Downtown Las Vegas. It is open to the public.