Pages about the Black Rock Desert at my site
Pictures I have taken of the Black Rock Desert
Educational Info and Flight Experiments
Black Rock info from Stratofox
Respect for the Wilderness
Other Black Rock info at AeroPAC
Other Black Rock info at BLM
Federal Wilderness Areas at Black Rock
Airports are listed in order of distance from the town of Gerlach,
Current info: roads, weather, geology, news
Controversial Topic: "Granite Fox" Coal Power Plant
Controversial Topic: Burning Man
Controversial Topic: National Conservation Area
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The Black Rock Desert's Claims to Fame
The Black Rock Desert is possibly the largest flat surface on the face of the Earth. Well, that's what some locals will tell you. Actually we need to qualify it as possibly the largest alkali/mud flat since there are salt flats that are larger and flatter. But they don't get used like Black Rock because they're more fragile.
It also has several other claims to fame.
It was a stop on the Pioneer Emigrant Trails, including the Applegate Trail to Southern Oregon and the Lassen and Nobles Trails to Northern California.
Amateur rocketry enthusiasts call Black Rock the best launch site on Earth because of the flat lakebed and uncontested airspace above it. AeroPAC hosts 3 high-power rocketry launches (MudRock, Aeronaut and XPRS) and AHPRA hosts 1 launch (BALLS) each year during the dry season.
It's usually a wilderness most of the year, except for one week when the famous, infamous and controversial Burning Man event is held. The people who go there think of Black Rock as a city.
The world supersonic land speed record was set there in October 1997.
I've called Black Rock "the Kitty Hawk of the 21st Century" after the world's first amateur launch to space occurred there in May 2004. I led the search teams which recovered the spacecraft.
In January 2007, I discovered a possible impact crater at the Black Rock Desert. The Stratofox team assisted in researching it. It'll be called "possible" until geologists confirm it. But you can see the evidence so far for yourself. We'd appreciate any assistance in investigating this theory.
Introduction to the Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert in Northwestern Nevada is a perennial dry lakebed,
meaning that it's dry most of the year.
The wet Winters serve to re-flatten the surface of the lakebed, or playa
(pronounced PLI-yuh).
The locals claim it's the largest flat spot on the face of the Earth.
Even if it isn't, there can't be many competitors.
It's as flat or flatter than an interstate freeway. And you can go in any direction. But your tires don't grip the surface like pavement. So don't do any sudden maneuvering at high speeds. Keep that in mind and you'll safely avoid the risk of a rollover accident.
It's so flat that it causes optical illusions. Soon after sunrise on any warm day, the mirage begins. Objects more than 1/2 mile away slip below the horizon as the mirage bends your field of view away from the ground. Yet mountains 20-40 miles away may seem crystal clear. A car driving near the mirage terminator from you may at first appear as a low flying aircraft because you can see some refracted sky below it. Even though it's been described to you, you will still burst into laughter when you see your first flying car. You can't help but laugh when you see that.
It's so flat that driving requires attention in two dimensions to watch for other vehicles. If done properly, this search pattern is very similar to looking for other craft while piloting an airplane or boat .
But caution is warranted... Some years you have to be more careful than others about small dunes nicknamed "playa serpents" that can form in seemingly-random places, usually downwind (northeast) from any site where the playa surface has been disturbed and loosened. And ruts along travel-worn paths and from former improperly-cleaned-up campsites can be hazards too. These hazards can all be difficult to see in time if you drive too fast.
It's a wilderness. Anyone telling you about Black Rock is not saying the whole story unless they tell you that. It has been left nearly pristine by previous generations and we owe it to following generations to leave it for them as well. That means pick up every last scrap from your campsite and anywhere you go. Pick up garbage anywhere you find it - it doesn't belong there. Leave no trace.
It can be dangerous for the unprepared. Don't travel alone on the playa. Don't go anywhere without a two-way radio that people wouldn't know to look for you. Don't travel on the playa without enough food and water in case your vehicle breaks down or gets stuck in a patch of mud. (See "How to avoid needing a rescue at Black Rock".)
If you will be venturing away from an established camp site on the playa, bring a GPS with you or you probably won't find your camp again. Remember, due to the mirage you can only see along the surface about 1/2 mile, more on cool days, less on hot days.
Be aware that the nearest cell phone coverage is 80 miles to the south -
there is no way to call 911.
Outside of the pay phones in the town of Gerlach,
the only phone coverage is by satellite phones by
Globalstar or Iridium.
The best communications solution is to have at least
one licensed Ham Radio operator
in every group that ventures from your campsite. And have Hams at your
group's base camp. With a mobile Ham radio, you can transmit with enough
power to talk anywhere in the Black Rock area.
However, if your group doesn't have any Hams, Family Radio Service
handheld radios will work for short distances (a couple miles at best
if the antenna is outside your vehicle) on the playa.
CB Radios may also work for several miles on the playa, but may be subject to
interference from HF propagation of other CB signals.
If you think this isn't really serious, let me mention that on more than half of my trips to Black Rock, I end up participating in some kind of rescue of someone who got stranded. People who were prepared had water, snacks, GPS and radios with them. They could wait for a rescue to arrive and assist in locating them. In those cases, the rescue was quick and only their pride was hurt. But people who weren't prepared have been in varying stages of dehydration which made their trip into a nightmare by the time we found them. And it could have been worse. Though I haven't seen this first hand, people have been found dead in the Black Rock region who got stranded unprepared and didn't survive for rescue to reach them. Don't let that happen to you or people who travel with you.
Services and supplies near Black Rock
See my Black Rock Camping Checklist.
Annual rocketry events at Black Rock
Three prefectures (regional chapters) of the
Tripoli Rocketry Association
(TRA) hold seven annual high-power rocket launch events at Black Rock.
Spectators are strongly discouraged on research/experimental launch days.
If you'd like to see what high-power rocketry is, come to a regular launch.
The dates below are the usual times of year that each event is planned.
The organizations post calendars on their web sites by Spring each year.
Note: BLM charges these groups $5/day/attendee - so spectators cost
money. Upon arrival, please find registration and offer to pay your share.
Or show more support by joining the organization if you like what you see.
If you've found my Black Rock pages to be useful,
please link to them from your web site
or recommend them to your friends.
If you have useful info for visitors to Black Rock,
please let me know the URL of your page.