Located at Groom Lake in the desolate desert of southern Nevada, Area 51 is a U.S. Air Force installation notorious for its rumored connection with unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
Conspiracy theories claim the base is used to test alien technology allegedly recovered from crash sites, such as the well-known incident in Roswell, New Mexico. These theories are fueled by the base's long-standing secrecy and its continued inaccessibility to the public.
Consequently, this assuming military facility has become an intrinsic part of the modern mythology and urban legends of the 20th century, with a large influence on media and pop culture.
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Where is Area 51 and how big is it?
Area 51 is located 120 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas, near the small towns of Rachel and Hiko. The title "Area 51" seems to come from the designation the base had on Atomic Energy Commission maps, with this name sticking in the mind of the public but mostly unused by the military.
Established in 1955 as part of the Nevada Test and Training Range complex, the area was also given the name "Paradise Ranch" in an attempt by aerospace company Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin) to draw employees to the base.
Today, the base and the wider Nevada Test and Training Range complex are part of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), with the CIA referring to it as the Groom Lake and Homey Airport. Though satellite imagery of the site had been restricted, since 2018 the base has been visible on Google Maps.
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Benjamin Radford is an American folklorist, writer, investigator and skeptic who's authored more than 20 books, including "Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries;" "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore;" and "Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment." He's also deputy editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine and has written several articles regarding the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51.
"The base itself is fairly small, but the restricted area around it is over 90,000 acres [36,000 hectares] — partly to prevent prying eyes and partly because they need to test classified aircraft," Radford told Space.com. "It's mostly conspiracy theorists and media who call it Area 51. To the U.S. government, it's simply the Nevada Test and Training Range, part of Edwards Air Force Base."
What is in Area 51 and what is it used for?
The U.S military finally acknowledged the existence of Area 51 in 2013 after a formerly classified CIA document detailing the history of the U-2 spy plane was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
But that acknowledgment doesn't mean that a visit to the base is advisable. Radford said that there are still legitimate government and military reasons for keeping the base's activities secret.
"The military classifies Area 51 as a 'Military Operating Area.' On the ground, you'll encounter stern signs and armed guards patrolling the fenced perimeters guarded by buried motion sensors, cameras, guards and so on — plus signs warning that deadly force is authorized," Radford explained. "The borders of Area 51 are not fenced but are marked with orange poles and warning signs."
Such signs tell visitors that photos aren't allowed and that trespassing on the property will result in a fine, he added.
Initially utilized as a testing site for the U-2 spy plane, the base later served as a testing ground for other renowned aircraft, including the Archangel-12, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.
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How did Area 51 come to be associated with UFOs?
The testing of new and classified military aircraft is likely the main reason for the association between Area 51 and UFOs. It's important to note that the term "UFO" refers to any unidentified flying object, not specifically alien spacecraft, despite its common portrayal in pop culture.
"It's true that strange lights and aircraft can sometimes be spotted in the area, so it's an obvious leap to UFOs, but of course, new aircraft might look identical," Radford explained. "The basic, flawed premise behind the Area 51 mythology can be boiled down to this: The government won't reveal what's going on there, so it must be something ultra-super-amazingly secret."
What we call Area 51, he added, is only one of many military bases, national laboratories and government scientific research centers across the country that deal with classified — even Top Secret — information, and where workers and visitors need security clearances.
"There's no reason to think that anything UFO-related is going on," Radford said.
Aside from the sightings of strange craft, Area 51 mythology was enforced in 1989 when a man named Robert Lazar claimed that he worked on extraterrestrial technology inside the base.
Lazar told Las Vegas television reporter George Knapp that he had viewed autopsy photographs of aliens inside Area 51 and that the US government used the facility to examine recovered alien spacecraft. Lazar himself was discredited, but his claims resulted in numerous government conspiracy theories, most of which involve extraterrestrial life.
"A lot of the legend has been fueled by hoaxers like Robert Lazar, who appeared in the 1980s telling a story to TV stations that he worked there and saw alien bodies and crashed flying saucers first-hand," Radford recalled. "It got a lot of attention, but it was later revealed that he fabricated not only his employment at Nellis [Air Force Base in southern Nevada] but indeed his entire background. Almost nothing of what he said was true."
Lazar had set the ball rolling, however. No matter how fallacious the rumors of alien tech and Area 51 were, the connection was cemented into the public consciousness and pop culture.
Related: UFOs and UAP: History, sightings and mysteries
Area 51 in pop culture
In addition to numerous documentaries about Lazar and the Area 51 UFO connection, the base has become a popular setting in fictional movies and TV shows.
One of the most notable portrayals of Area 51 is in the 1996 blockbuster "Independence Day," starring Will Smith. Directed by Roland Emmerich, this film grossed over $817 million worldwide and features the base as a pivotal location in humanity's fight against an alien invasion.
On the small screen, Area 51 was host to a special prisoner in a 2011 episode of "Doctor Who." The time-traveling Doctor was held captive at the base during the sixth-season episode "Day of the Moon."
Given the fact that it is a show based on aliens, conspiracy theories and government cover-ups, it's little wonder that Area 51 eventually made it onto "The X-Files." In the 1998 season-six episode entitled "Dreamland" — also an early name given to the base — Mulder and Scully witness the flight of a mysterious craft at the facility.
And Area 51 became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in season seven of "Agents of Shield," appearing in two episodes of the show and getting a mention in a third. The base was also mentioned by Spider-Man antagonist J. Jonah Jameson's publication The Daily Bugle in a series of video packages as part of the viral marketing for the film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" at the end of 2021.
The Daily Bugle reports referenced a "failed raid" on Area 51 by people, who aimed to discover evidence of alien life. More than a million people were supposed to conduct the raid, but only a handful actually showed up — a clear case of art imitating life.
The Storm Area 51 movement
In 2019, what started as a prank on social media almost got very out of hand when 3.5 million people expressed interest in attending an event organized by 20-year-old Matty Roberts, a student from Bakersfield, California.
The name of the tongue-in-cheek Facebook event was "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," and, as the name suggests, the supposed plan was to charge at the base in large enough numbers to overwhelm security. The aim was to uncover putative secrets like alien technology and secretive research.
In the end, an estimated 6,000 people made it to the low-key summer event and partook in some activities like hatchet-throwing and drinking limited-edition alien-themed Bud Light beer. Area 51's light security was not challenged, however.
"It began as a joke, but some people took it seriously and began planning to actually … well, it's not clear what, but hang out near the entrance and have fun," Radford said. "The tiny town of Rachel braced for huge crowds and a music festival that never happened."
"It was a huge fiasco, a smaller-scale Fyre Festival for the alien crowd," he said.
Additional resources
Explore the history of the U-2 spy plane program with Lyon Air Museum. Read more about UFO hoaxster Bob Lazar with How Stuff Works. Discover the many Area 51 pop culture references in this YouTube video from KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas.
Bibliography
Area 51 Fast Facts, CNN, [2021].
Area 51, Military.com.
Area 51, 37°14'06.0"N 115°48'40.0"W, Google Maps.
Area 51, Britannica.
Explore the conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, Britannica.
Independence Day, The Numbers.
Doctor Who, Season 6 Episode 2, Day of the Moon, IMDB.
X-Files, Season 6 Episode 4, Dreamland, IMDB.
Area 51, Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki.
Storm Area 51: The joke that became a 'possible humanitarian disaster,' BBC News, 2019.
Frank. A., "Storm Area 51" weekend had neither raids nor aliens. But it wasn't a bust," Vox, 2019.
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