Groom Lake (salt flat) facts for kids
Groom Lake is a large, dry lake in Nevada, USA. It's also known as a salt flat because its surface is covered in salt. This special area is used for runways at the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site airport. It's part of the famous Area 51 USAF base.
Groom Lake sits about 1,344 meters (4,409 feet) above sea level. It stretches about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from north to south. From east to west, it's about 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) wide at its widest point. The lake's edge is roughly 18.2 kilometers (11.3 miles) around. It is located in the Groom Lake Valley, which is part of the Tonopah Basin. The lake is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of a town called Rachel, Nevada.
Visiting Groom Lake
It's not easy to get a good look at Groom Lake. The closest place you can see it from is Tikaboo Peak. This peak is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) to the east. There used to be two closer spots called "Freedom Ridge" and "White Sides." However, these areas were closed to the public in 1995. This was done to stop people from taking pictures of the secret base.
History of Groom Lake
People found lead and silver in the southern part of the Groom Range back in 1864. An English company called Groome Lead Mines Limited helped pay for the Conception Mines in the 1870s. This is how the area got its name.
Later, in 1876, J. B. Osborne and his partners took over the mining claims at Groom Lake. Osborne's son continued this work in the 1890s. Mining really picked up in 1916 when two companies started working their mines. This continued until 1918. After World War II, mining started again and lasted until the early 1950s.
Groom Lake in Pop Culture
Groom Lake is a place featured in the popular video game series, Call Of Duty: Black Ops. You can find it on the zombie maps called "Moon" and "Classified."
See also
In Spanish: Lago Groom para niños
