Area 51, Nevada
The dry lake and the mountains around the secret test site at Groom Lake.
Terra Explorer American history
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Make this model
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely.
- Region
- Nevada, USA
- Position
- 37.2350, -115.8111
- Area
- 20 × 20 km
- Real elevation
- 1,343 to 2,001 m (658 m of relief)
- Printed size
- 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, about 1:133,300
- Heights
- 1.5× exaggeration
- Elevation data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, 1–10 m per point
- Suggested color
- Desert
- Group
- American history
About Area 51, Nevada
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).
From Wikipedia: Area 51, text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. The article’s history lists its authors.
Questions about Area 51, Nevada
Where is Area 51?
Area 51 is in Nevada, USA at 37.2350, -115.8111. The model covers a 20 by 20 kilometer square around that point.
How high is the terrain in the Area 51 model?
The land in this model runs from 1,343 to 2,001 m (658 m of relief). These are the measured heights, printed 1.5 times taller so the shape is easy to see.
Can I 3D print Area 51?
Yes. Download the free Standard resolution STL and print it on any FDM or resin printer. It is 150 mm wide and about 12.4 mm tall, on a solid 5 mm base, at a scale of about 1:133,300. It also works for CNC carving. Use Customize to change the width, base thickness or height exaggeration, make it round or add a name plate.
How accurate is the Area 51 model?
It is built from real elevation measurements, not an artist's guess: the USGS 3D Elevation Program, mostly airborne laser scans at 1 to 10 meters per point. The shaded picture on this page is made from the same data.
Is the Area 51 model free?
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely and is a paid upgrade.
What is a Area 51 terrain model good for?
People use it as a classroom history lesson, a battlefield-visit memento or a wargaming board.
About this terrain model
Embossify Terra builds Area 51, Nevada from real measured elevation, not an artist's guess. In the United States the heights come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program, mostly airborne laser scans that resolve every 1 to 10 meters.
The model covers a 20 by 20 kilometer square centered on 37.2350, -115.8111. It prints 150 mm (5.9 in) wide on a solid base, a scale of about 1:133,300. The heights are exaggerated 1.5× so the shape is easy to see and feel; you can change that when you customize the model. The sea is flattened to zero, so land stands on a clean base.
New to terrain printing? Read how Terra works. The shaded picture on this page is made by Embossify from the same elevation data.
