Harpers Dry Lake Test Annex


Historic California Posts, Camps Stations and Airfields
Harpers Dry Lake Test Annex


The United States Air Force (USAF) acquired 3,840 acres of public domain land from the Department of the Interior by Special Land Use Permit on 19 August 1968 and an additional 1,280 acres by lease from private owners on 15 September 1968 at Harper Dry Lake, for a total of 5,120 acres.

From 1 September 1968 to 31 December 1970, the Air Force utilized the dry lake as a test site and emergency landing field in support of the C-5A and C-141 USAF Aircraft Test Programs operating out of the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. No improvements were known to have been constructed on the site by the USAF.
On 31 December 1970, the Special Land Use Permit on the 3,840 acres of public lands lapsed and the property was returned to the DOl, while the leases on the remaining 1,280 acres of the site were terminated before 30 June 1971 and returned to private ownership. The Bureau of Land Management is currently constructing a wildlife observation trail and park at Harper Dry Lake on the public land parcel, while the private property remains undeveloped.


Site Map:



Source: Los Angeles District, US Army Corps of Engineers

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