Question of the Day - 10 October 2019

Yes, Sunrise Mountain is the official name. It's the one on the left as you're looking east from the city; Frenchman Mountain is on the right, the higher of the two. They're split by a pass through which E. Lake Mead Blvd. runs. Many people refer to the twin ranges as Sunrise, given that the sun rises behind them both. 

Heading clockwise from there, the next range is the River Mountains, right behind which is Lake Mead.

Due south of Las Vegas Valley is the mighty McCullough Range, separated into north and south sections. Black Mountain is the prominent peak in the North McCullough Range at just under 5,100 feet. 

The dry lake beds are, as the name depicts, the bottoms of lakes that used to be flooded, but haven't been for many thousands of years. Also known as playas, they're popular with movie-set designers and commercial photographers (the flat ground amplifies shadows, helping to create dramatic sundown and sunup looks), fast-car enthusiasts, rocket launchers, drone operators, and land sailors. They're wet only during monsoon rains in July and August and only for a very short while.

They were, however, once very wet; between 2500 and 700 B.C., the entire Las Vegas Valley was damp and cool enough for there to be shallow lakes where now are only their dry cracked bottoms.