Thanks for the descriptions. Interesting read!

Area 31 is a buffer zone for Yucca Mountain and is located adjacent to and just west of Area 25.

Area 11 contains Plutonium Valley, site of Project 56. Four plutonium dispersal "safety" shots were fired in Area 11 in 1956. This was lately the resting place of the Lockheed XF-90 fighter prototype until it was removed for restoration and eventual museum display.

I have visited nearly every Area within the NTS boundary. My first view of Groom Lake was from Area 12 in the summer of 1990.

When we looked at the overheads and USGS tops for the Area 51 Research group, one notable absence was the lack of any power lines or the like going to the area. It is far more likely that power is supplied to the base rather than it generating it on its own as fuel would be a huge issue.

THe power station shown above may just be a sub station with underground transmission lines to Groom lake or some other location.

THE OBVIOUS QUESTION :

are the power lines live ?

if you can get up to the fence surrounding the transormer - you can hear if its active

a possible answer would be that the power llines were put in for a facility that was then cancelled - and now the salvage value of the materials is less than the cost of up rooting them - this you have a powerline to nowhere

of course - the explaination that its the terminal for an powergrid that continues in a trench shoulds good to me -


the idea that its the power supply for an underground base is just crazy - no one would be that daft - would they ??????????

Originally posted by ignorant_ape


a possible answer would be that the power llines were put in for a facility that was then cancelled - and now the salvage value of the materials is less than the cost of up rooting them - this you have a powerline to nowhere

Some people think that it might have be the location of early tests with laser weapons and has since been adandoned and they never bothered to remove the power lines.

FredT made a good point , since there are no above ground lines going into Area 51. It has to get power some how and I would imagine Area 51 is quite power hungry.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
FredT made a good point , since there are no above ground lines going into Area 51. It has to get power some how and I would imagine Area 51 is quite power hungry.

What if they had one set of main lines going into the test site, and then had an underground distribution station? This would provide some protection against accidents that could affect the power grid for the test site. Also, when the Nevada Test Site was first built (sone time in the '40's) most of the testing was above ground.

Tim

Area 51 appears to get its power through a cable running to a substation at the north end of the base.

The powerlines to Area 19 shouldn't be surprising. Pahute Mesa was used for underground nuclear tests. That sort of operation requires a great deal of electricity. The last time I visited Area 19 (about 8 years ago) things were pretty quiet. There has been no word of any new activities there.

I have a book at home that says that Area 30 is Tonapah Test Range, where the F-117 Nighthawk's used to be bases. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

Tim

Tonopah Test Range is listed in the Department of Energy phone directory as Area 52. I have also seen this designation for TTR elsewhere.

Originally posted by Shadowhawk
Tonopah Test Range is listed in the Department of Energy phone directory as Area 52.

Thanks Shadowhawk! that's all I wanted to know!

Tim

i did work at a miltary base and saw information that said area 52 is actually located at barksdale AFB

Air Force area numbers have nothing to do with Department of Energy area numbers.


For example:

There is an Area 2 at Nellis Air Force Base, but it has absolutely no relation to Area 2 at the Nevada Test Site.

Both Groom Lake (Area 51) and Tonopah Test Range (Area 52) recieved their designations from the Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor to DoE), based on the system in use for numbering areas at NTS. Some of the numbers are relatively obscure. There are very few maps that show Area 13 and Area 31. I don't think I have ever seen Area 52 on a map, but it is listed in documents and DoE phone directories.

area numbers are simply for zoning reasons, i live in an area, i don't know what it is but it's there, every place in the united states has an area number, groom lake just happened to fit into area 51


Velvet

Originally posted by dobe
i did work at a miltary base and saw information that said area 52 is actually located at barksdale AFB

You are talking about Restricted Area/Restricted Air Space numbers. I don't know exactly how they work, but they are seprate from the test site area numbers. For example:

On a flight chart, Groom Lake is in Restricted Area 4808N (you can see it on any flight chart). However, as we all know, the Test site grid number for Groom Lake is Area 51. Two different numbers, same shadowy facility in the Nevada desert.

Tim

Area 1 is Nellis AFB (main base), Area 2 is the far end of the base where the prison camp sits. Area 3 is the base hospital and the facilities behind it.

Knightmeir posted: "Area 1 is Nellis AFB (main base), Area 2 is the far end of the base where the prison camp sits. Area 3 is the base hospital and the facilities behind it."

Those are not the same as the Nevada Test Site areas 1, 2, and 3 on Yucca Flat. Yet again, we are takling about different numbering systems.