Groom Lake Panorama October 2011

Regarding this year's crop, the photography isn't very good due to poor conditions. It was windy in the early AM, and by the time the wind died down, the thermals had started. However, since I haven't seen one Groom Lake shot on any forum this year, this one is better than nothing. What's new? Well a new water tower is pretty obvious. I haven't done a detailed comparison yet.

For some reason, the really large panoramas are not working in firefox. They do work in Internet Explorer. If you get the option to do a "save as", that would be my choice.

Groom Lake October 2011 small jpg

Groom Lake October 2011 medium jpg

Groom Lake Oct 2011 full resolution jpg

For reference or comparison purposes, here are the images for last year.

Groom Lake July 2011 small jpg

Groom Lake July 2010 medium jpg

Groom Lake July 2010 full resolution jpg

reply to post by gariac


Do you have any idea what this is:


Here's a wider view for reference:

It looks like a concrete batch plant. There's what looks to be a quarry operation going on in the background so it would make sense.

These bases are so remote that on-site quarries aren't out of the question. They got most of the crushed stone for the paving projects near the border from a small quarry across the highway from Rachel.

I'm not even sure a cement truck could make a run from Vegas. You can only turn cement so many times.

reply to post by this_is_who_we_are


thats a triangle solar powered tower... thats the only thing i think it is... maybe they cracked the code to 100% pure solar energy which is like a mini nuclear power plant.

regular solar panels only collect 50% of energy the rest is just red,green,blue colors which are reflected

I've started the comparison between the old and new photos. I'm not sure how much is worth documenting. For instance, they added a 2nd water tower. This was done at the TTR years ago. Perhaps they need a certain amount of water on hand per population at the base. Or some new fire fighting requirement. Who knows. You can see some fresh digging at the far right side of the new pano. Perhaps something new will spring up there later.

There seems to be quite a bit of new construction at what would pass for the passenger terminal.



The goofy looking new building in the back might have been made with the blue curved frames left laying on the unused runway in the July 2010 photograph. One of the buildings in the foreground appears to have been replaced by a larger building.

This image shows the new water tower. I cropped the old image to show the blue metal frames on the unused runway. This is the framing I think went into the new building in the previous post.

Hey Gariac,

thanks for providing these pictures from a place I probably will never be able to visit!

Seeing this overground structures and being the expert in this field, may I ask you ... what is your personal opinion on any undergorund levels at Area 51?

reply to post by Dalbeck


I doubt there is much underground construction at Groom Lake. It is not like they have to conserve land at the base.

reply to post by gariac


Thanks for letting us know your thoughts!!

Textreply to post by gariac


Now im fairly new to this site, so please bare with me. How do u know this is groom lake. im not saying it is or isnt. But how do we know for sure?

Whats the point of those cars and vans being there? dont they all go in and out via aircraft?

reply to post by wlasikiewicz


Technically no private cars are allowed on base, assuming Groom rules are similar to the TTR. In reality, I saw a Rachel resident (now deceased) drive through the back gate and head into work.

People drive from here to there on bases all the time. Sometimes they are in Gem cars, but often in vans and trucks. Things break, repairs are needed, parts are moved around, blah blah blah. There are security patrols, runways to inspect, etc. You can watch the TTR and see vehicles going back and forth as well.

The earth moving vehicles are a different story. I've seen them leave through NTS Gate 700 and the Groom Lake back gate. Never the front gate. Most of the time all you see go through the front gate is the bus. Oh, you do see lots of vehicles drive TO the front gate, but only a small percentage go through.

reply to post by gorgon8819


Google Earth has views of Groom Lake and the TTR. Just match the images.

Good pictures, but you should try to do that for the Dulce area and see any vents or holes that some refuse to check due to tribal police. Cause seeing the area 51 during the day from far wont reveal anything, at least try it during the night as those do to see any UFOs