Editing Area 51 (section)

==Geography==
===Area 51===
[[File:Area51 Tikaboo Peak 07.2008.jpg|thumb|Area 51 viewed from distant [[Tikaboo Peak]]]]

The original rectangular base of {{convert|6|by|10|mi|km|0}} is now part of the so-called "Groom box", a rectangular area, measuring {{convert|23|by|25|mi|km}}, of restricted airspace. The area is connected to the internal [[Nevada Test Site]] (NTS) road network, with paved roads leading south to [[Mercury, Nevada|Mercury]] and west to [[Yucca Flat]]. Leading northeast from the lake, the wide and well-maintained Groom Lake Road runs through a pass in the Jumbled Hills. The road formerly led to mines in the Groom basin but has been improved since their closure. Its winding course runs past a security checkpoint, but the restricted area around the base extends farther east. After leaving the restricted area, Groom Lake Road descends eastward to the floor of the [[Tikaboo Valley]], passing the dirt-road entrances to several small ranches, before converging with [[Nevada State Route 375|State Route 375, the "Extraterrestrial Highway"]], south of [[Rachel, Nevada|Rachel]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/travel/escapes/13extraterrestrial.html |title=Lonesome Highway to Another World? |access-date=8 July 2007 |author=Regenold, Stephen |date=13 April 2007 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617100409/http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/travel/escapes/13extraterrestrial.html |archive-date=17 June 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Area 51 shares a border with the Yucca Flat region of the Nevada Test Site, the location of 739 of the 928 nuclear tests conducted by the [[United States Department of Energy]] at NTS.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf |title=US Department of Energy. Nevada Operations Office. ''United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992'' (December 2000) |access-date=10 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615231826/http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ndepmap">{{cite web |url=http://ndep.nv.gov/boff/nts-use.jpg |title=Navigation map |publisher=ndep.nv.gov |access-date=4 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216102228/http://ndep.nv.gov/boff/nts-use.jpg |archive-date=16 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/facility/nts_fig1.gif |title=Guide |website=fas.org |format=GIF |access-date=4 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106165252/http://fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/facility/nts_fig1.gif |archive-date=6 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository]] is southwest of Groom Lake.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/yucca-mountain-neighbors-area-51-area-25-nevada/story?id=19963355 |title=Area 51, 25 Among Yucca Mountain's Nuclear Neighbors |work=abc News |first=Alan |last=Farnham |date=15 August 2013 |access-date=20 December 2020}}</ref>

===Groom Lake===

[[Groom Lake (salt flat)|Groom Lake]] is a [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flat]]<ref name="LeibyWaPo">{{cite news |last=Leiby |first=Richard |title=Government officially acknowledges existence of Area 51, but not the UFOs |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/government-officially-acknowledges-existence-of-area-51-but-not-the-ufos/2013/08/16/ca4feaec-06be-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807070834/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/government-officially-acknowledges-existence-of-area-51-but-not-the-ufos/2013/08/16/ca4feaec-06be-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html |archive-date=7 August 2017 |access-date=16 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> in Nevada used for runways of the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site airport (XTA/KXTA) on the north of the Area 51 [[United States Air Force|USAF]] military installation. The lake at {{convert|4409|ft|m|abbr=on}} elevation is approximately {{convert|3+3/4|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} from north to south and {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} from east to west at its widest point.<ref name=GNIS>
{{cite gnis|840824|Groom Lake|access-date=9 November 2010}}</ref> Located within the namesake Groom Lake Valley portion of the [[Tonopah Basin]], the lake is {{convert|25|mi|abbr=on}} south of Rachel, Nevada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dreamlandresort.com/area51/dreamland_50years.html |title=DREAMLAND: Fifty Years of Secret Flight Testing in NevadaBy Peter W. Merlin |website=dreamlandresort.com |first=Peter |last=Merlin |date=16 October 2010 |access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref>