B737-300 FLT CREW RECEIVES GPWS TERRAIN WARNING WHILE ON VISUAL APPROACH TO RWY 19L AT LAS. AFTER CLIMBING 500 FEET THE APPROACH IS CONTINUED TO A LANDING.

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FLT TO LAS. TKOF AND ENRTE PORTION OF FLT PROCEEDED NORMALLY THROUGH THE GRNPA ARR. INITIALLY ATC ASSIGNED A HDG AFTER LUXOR AND WE WERE TOLD TO EXPECT RWY 25L FOR LNDG. AFTER A SHORT TIME ON THE VECTOR; ATC CHANGED OUR LNDG RWY TO RWY 19L AND GAVE US A NEW VECTOR TOWARD THE STRATOSPHERE FOR A VFR ARR TO RWY 19L. WE WERE EVENTUALLY CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 19L ON AN APPROX 10 MI BASE LEG. THE WX WAS CLR AND ALL OBSTACLES WERE VISUALLY SEEN. AFTER THE CHANGE IN LNDG RWY; I QUICKLY RE-BRIEFED THE VISUAL APCH TO INCLUDE TURNOFF POINT AND PROBABLE TAXI RTE. WHILE FLYING THE APCH; I BRIEFED THE TERRAIN IN FRONT OF US; AS IT WAS EASILY SEEN. I DID NOT BRIEF THE MSL ALT OF THE TERRAIN; BUT I SAID I WOULD MISS IT. ON THE DSCNT TOWARDS FINAL; VISUALLY I THOUGHT I WOULD EASILY CLR THE TERRAIN. AS WE GOT CLOSER; THE CAPT ASKED THAT I STOP MY DSCNT AS HE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO BE TOO CLOSE TO THE TERRAIN. JUST AS I STARTED TO COMPLY WITH THE CAPT'S REQUEST; THE GPWS TERRAIN WARNING WENT OFF. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED THE RECOVERY AS REQUIRED IN THE FOM. BY THE TIME I WAS GOING THROUGH APPROX 15 DEGS NOSE HIGH AND HAD THE PWR GOING TOWARDS MAXIMUM; WE HAD CLBED APPROX 500 FT TO APPROX 4100 FT MSL. I ASKED THE CAPT IF HE WAS COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE WE WERE AND WHETHER I COULD RESUME THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 19L. HE SAID YES SO I CONTINUED TO CONFIGURE AND AGAIN BEGAN DSNDING FOR THE APCH. WHEN THE INCIDENT HAPPENED; I WAS AT FLAPS 5 DEGS AND 180 KTS. THE LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. THE BRIEFING SHOULD STATE HOW HIGH THE TERRAIN IS AND AN APPROPRIATE ALT TO FLY OVER THE TERRAIN ON A VISUAL APCH AND SET THAT ALT IN THE ALT WINDOW. DO NOT JUST TRUST YOUR VISUAL CUES. AT NO TIME DID I FEEL I WAS IN DANGER UNTIL THE CAPT MENTIONED THAT HE THOUGHT I WAS TOO LOW. I BELIEVE I BECAME FIXATED ON CHKING MY POS IN REGARD TO THE RWY WITHOUT REFING THE PRE-BRIEFED TERRAIN. I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT NOT BEING HIGH ON THE APCH THAN ABOUT THE HIGH TERRAIN THAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. IN SHORT; SET A SAFE ALT IN THE WINDOW AND DON'T GET FIXATED ON THE RWY WHEN THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT OBSTACLES TO WORRY ABOUT THAT ARE CLOSE TO YOU.