Las Vegas's flag, formally adopted in 1968, features a blue field crossed by a gray diagonal band, with the municipal seal in the upper-left canton. This dense seal tells the story of a city that should not exist.
At the center: a green four-branched Joshua tree, a reference to Nevada's desert landscape (Las Vegas means "the meadows" in Spanish, a name given in 1829 by a Mexican explorer who found water springs in this valley). Behind it: a yellow sun with orange rays rising over mountains, and a black jet with its contrail.
Las Vegas owes part of its expansion to the U.S. military: Nellis Air Force Base, established in 1941, and the Nevada Test Site (1951-1992) drew thousands of workers. In the 1950s, the casinos held "atomic viewing parties" to watch the mushroom clouds from their rooftops.
The flag, designed by Richard Thompson, captures this contradictory identity: Sin City and military base, desert oasis and neon metropolis, pure blue sky and cutting-edge technology. Las Vegas is the city of illusions, but its flag tells the truth: it is a mirage that managed to become real.