Area 51



Area 51



Area 51 is located in a remote part of southern Nevada and is one of the most secret places in the world. This is because of the activity that takes place in this region. It is an air force base owned by the US Air Force and is part of the Nevada Test and Training Range. In fact, the US government does not acknowledge the existence of this part of the country. The Nevada Tests Site is the area in which the US conducts its nuclear testing and even though Area 51 was named on old maps, it is nonexistent on more recent maps of the area.




An extensive network of roads leads to the area, but when visitors get closer than they are supposed to, there are armed guards present to tell them to turn back. Numerous warning signs state that photography is prohibited. Groom Lake is one section of this test site where military aircraft are tested before being approved for use in the Air Force. Contractors who work with the Department of Defense do have a hangar at the airport in Las Vegas and do fly to Area 51 and Groom Lake on a regular basis. There are employees living in the surrounding areas who work at the facilities and they are bussed to work each day.

Many conspiracy theories have arisen because of the secrecy surrounding the existence of Area 51. Some say it is a storage facility for crashed alien spacecraft and others say the government scientists are working on time travel technology. Because of these theories, the State government named the adjoining highway “The Extraterrestrial Highway”.

Groom Lake was a bombing and artillery practice site during the Second World War and it was the headquarters of the U-2 program, which began flying spy missions over Soviet territory in the 1960’s. The Lockheed company operates in this area developing and testing new aircraft.