They are called "circle farms" and a quick look on google earth will find them everywhere in the southwest. The water source is in the center, and a pivot runs the sprinklers in a circle around it. Mostly used for hay and low growing crops in areas where other types of irrigation are impractical---like in the desert---and where people have many acres without a lot of production, so the usual square farm areas don't matter. Usual size is 40 acres, give or take, and the main industry (at least here in Nevada) that uses them are cattle ranches for winter feed.
Why do they tend to pop up in strange isolated places? Easy. Water is where you find it. Though it appears to be mostly uninhabited, this small piece of the high desert, is because some of these ranches run in the thousands of acres, and leases for BLM land of many thousand more. The cattle range far and wide most of the year, and are rounded up and brought in during the winter and early spring to feed on the grass and alfalfa grown on the circle farms.
I could even probably name all the family farms north of area 51, as I have many friends in the area.

well darn, thought maybe i was onto something

but denver is a different climate compared to the areas of the other 3 sites, but i guess the mountains around would probably get some good rainfall so...

thanks for your input greatly appreciated


what stories if any do your friends have?

[edit on 6-11-2007 by OSSkyWatcher]