Area 51 is in a rectangle area of about 155 km ² in Lincoln County, Nevada, about 100 miles or 160 km northwest of Las Vegas. It is part of the vast (12,140 km ²) of territory from Nellis Air Force (Nellis Air Force Range or NAFRI). The area 51 is formed mainly of the valley Emigrant Valley, bordered by mountain ranges Groom and Papoose, north and south, respectively, and the hills jumbled Hills to the east. Between the two channels is the Groom Lake which is a nearby dry lake bed about 5 km in diameter. On the southwest side of the lake there is a military airport with concrete runways, one of which, is now abandoned and continues on the bed of the lake, and four dirt tracks on the lake itself.
The area has three tracks 51 in operations. The main one being the 14L/32R, a track surface of concrete, with a length of 3,650 m by 60 m wide with an overflow area of 300 m at each end. The second runway, 12/30, which also serves, as a thoroughfare is a length of 1,650 m by 45 m wide. The runway was closed for almost 10 km long (six miles). The surface is concrete over 3,800 m, asphalt 3 400 m and 1,600 m and 800 m of asphalt in a poor state to the north and south ends, respectively. There are at least three separate groups of indicators, suggesting that the track was never used for its entire length at a time. At present, only a portion of 2,000 m is identified, forming the runway 14R/32L. The dirt tracks on the bed of the lake are in pairs and have a length of up to 3,400 m. They served in strong winds.
To the west of the slopes are many hangars can accommodate aircraft of various sizes, workshops, the terminal planes JANET, dormitories which can accommodate more than 1,000 people, a gym with swimming pool, cafeteria, various office buildings and even a baseball field. At the southern end of the base, there is a career to make up on the concrete for the renovation of runways and construction of new buildings. Further south still, there are bunkers where weapons are stored. At the north end of the base, on the shores of the lake dried up, are an array of radar antennas of various models. Just northwest of the baseball field, the trenches are now filled, where once burned waste.
The area 51 shares its border with the western area of Yucca Flats test site in Nevada (NTS), where the Department of Energy of the United States has made much of its nuclear tests. The deposit of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is about 65 km southwest of Groom Lake.
The area is connected to the NTS road network, with paved roads to the village of Mercury and Yucca Flats on the northwest side. On the northeast shore of the lake, the Groom Lake Road, a dirt road in good condition, winds through the hills jumbled Hills. Groom Lake Road is the old road that led to mines in the channel Groom. It has been improved since the closure of mines. Its winding through a gate, but the security perimeter surrounding the base lies a km farther east. After the limit of the restricted area, marked by several warning signs that indicate “any photography is prohibited” and that “the use of force can lead to death is permissible,” Groom Lake Road down to the valley Tikaboo, passing in front of several small ranches before joining Highway 375, christened Extraterrestrial south of the town of Rachel.
Works Cited:
Hall, Richard H., editor. The UFO Evidence: Volume 1. 1964, NICAP, reissued 1997, Barnes & Noble Books
Hall, Richard H. The UFO Evidence: A Thirty-Year Report. Scarecrow Press, 2001
Hynek, J. Allen. The Hynek UFO Report. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.
Rose, Bill and Buttler, Tony. Flying Saucer Aircraft (Secret Projects). Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing, 2006
The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence. 2000. Edited by Peter Sturrock. Aspect Books
