Area 51
classified United States Air Force base at Groom Lake in Nye and Lincoln counties in Nevada, United States
Area 51 is a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range in southern Nevada, 83 miles (134 km) north-northwest of Las Vegas.
A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport (ICAO: KXTA, FAA LID: XTA) or Groom Lake (after the salt flat next to its airfield). Details of its operations are not made public, but the USAF says that it is an open training range, and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons. The USAF and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight tests of the Lockheed U-2 aircraft.
All research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). The CIA publicly acknowledged the base's existence on 25 June 2013, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in 2005; it has declassified documents detailing its history and purpose. The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore.
The surrounding area is a popular tourist destination, including the small town of Rachel along the so-called "Extraterrestrial Highway".
Geography
Area 51
The original rectangular base of 6 by 10 miles (10 by 16 km) is part of the "Groom box", a rectangle of restricted airspace measuring 23 by 25 miles (37 by 40 km). The area is connected to the internal Nevada Test Site (NTS) road network, with paved roads leading south to Mercury and west to the NTS's Yucca Flat region.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Area 51” is classified United States Air Force base at Groom Lake in Nye and Lincoln counties in Nevada, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Area, classified and United, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “classified United States Air Force base at Groom Lake in Nye and Lincoln counties in Nevada, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q177397. VIAF identifies the subject as 315137475. The Library of Congress control number is sh97005343. Authority coordinates are 37.233, -115.808. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955, 2013 and 2005.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Area 51”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Area 51 primary sources, Area 51 archive and Area research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Area 51”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Area 51” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.