Muroc (also known as, Rogers , Rod , Yucca , and Rodriguez ) is a former settlement in Kern County , California in the Mojave Desert .
7-449: It was located on Rogers Dry Lake 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Edwards , at an elevation of 2283 feet (696 m). Circa 1929, Valyermo , Llano , Wilsona , Neenach , Domino, and Muroc, were all described as "post offices that serve scattered ranches. All these communities are reached by automobile, and roads lead from the [ Antelope Valley ] to desert towns lying to the north and east." Muroc still appeared on maps as of 1942. Muroc's site
14-526: A 650 ft (200 m) replica of a Japanese cruiser was constructed on the lakebed, nicknamed " Muroc Maru ". The ship was demolished in 1950. Many of the United States' notable aeronautical achievements have taken place at Rogers Lake, including the testing of experimental military aircraft, the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager , and landings of the Space Shuttle . It is also famous for
21-742: Is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California . The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake . It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its hard surface provides a natural extension to the paved runways. It was formerly known as Muroc Dry Lake . Rogers Dry Lake is located in the Antelope Valley , about 100 miles (160 km) drive north of Los Angeles . It covers an area of about 65 square miles (170 km ) at
28-536: Is now on Edwards Air Force Base . After World War II Muroc served as an important test flight location; in 1947 Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Muroc vicinity. A post office operated at Muroc from 1910 to 1951. The name honors early settlers Ralph and Clifford Corum — their surname spelled backwards is "Muroc". This Kern County, California -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rogers Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake
35-643: The Corum family settled on the lake bed; they attempted to create a small community called "Muroc" (the name reversed), which failed. In 1933, the United States Army arrived, looking to establish a bombing range in the area. The lakebed's potential use as an airfield was then realized, and in 1937 the United States Army Air Corps set up Muroc Air Field for training and testing; the airfield later became Edwards Air Force Base . During World War II ,
42-544: The extremely brief rainy season, standing water may be on the lakebed, pooling near the location of the region's lowest elevation (2,300 ft). The lake is adjacent to the smaller Rosamond Lake which through the Holocene , together made up one large water-body. The area of the lakebed was first used by the railroads, with a watering station for steam engines located nearby by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad . In 1910,
49-479: The low point of the valley, forming a rough figure eight. It is the bed of a lake that formed roughly 2.5 million years ago, in the Pleistocene . It is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) long and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) wide at its greatest dimensions. The bed of the lake is unusually hard, capable of withstanding as much as 250 psi without cracking. This is sufficient to allow even the heaviest aircraft to land safely. During
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