Older photos of Area 51:
September 8, 2005
Area 51 in 1958
Ten years later, in 1968. The runway has been extended.
Focusing on the upper-left portion, the details are unclear.
At A, the runway appears "blocked." At B, it extends into a "ravined" area. At C, the shading suggests that this runway extension—which, as a reminder, is 30 meters wide—lies within a depressed section. It's hard to see how a 30-meter-wide runway, or aircraft meant to take off and land on it, could function effectively. But then, what purpose would this section serve? Could it be a horizontal extension of the runway, intended to be covered later? We can compare this with a more recent view (Google Earth):
End of the 8.2 km runway, more recent. Unknown date.
If there was a runway extension in a depression, it might have been covered, since a road now passes over it. Mystery...
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