Tonopah Test Range
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Jfader tonopah airfield2.jpg Image:Wfm area51 map en.png Tonopah Test Range is a military installation located about 30 miles southeast of Tonopah, Nevada. It is part of the northern fringe of the Nellis Range and is inaccessible to the public. The Tonopah Test Range measures 625 square miles in size. It was opened in 1957 as a testing site for United States Department of Energy weapons programs, and for most of its life it was administered by Sandia National Laboratories. It is also used for launching sounding rockets.
Tonopah Test Range includes the Tonopah Test Range Airport. About six miles north of the airfield is a large housing area called Mancamp, which contains dormitories, a library, cafeteria, and gym. During the years of the F-117 project Mancamp was connected to the airfield by shuttle bus service, while the airfield in turn was connected to Nellis Air Force Base by five to twenty Key Air Boeing 737 flights per day from Nellis to Tonopah.
The range is largely in a valley flanked by the Cactus Range to the west. To the east is the Kawich Range, home of Silverbow, one of the largest mining ghost towns in Nevada. The range holds a sizable wild horse and coyote population, closely monitored by the Bureau of Land Management.
Tonopah Test Range is around 70 miles northwest of Groom Dry Lake, home of the secret Area 51 facility.