HikeArizona.COM

I ‘PM’d Joe today and he suggested I add the PM to a HAZ forum.
Here it is:
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Joe,

“HAZ” TWICE !!

I’m on Google earth alot, scouting out anything in the desert or mountains that looks interesting.
Well, I found something very interesting.

Just north of the city of Maricopa & just west of Rte 347 is a facility that your “CAL TOPO” map depicts as a “landing strip”.

It is NOT a landing strip.
The area is 3,500 Ft long, running almost North and South, and is all fenced in.
It’s 340 Ft wide at the south end and about 270 ft wide at the north.

You must know all about this parcel of land, as at the north end, and again, at the south end of the parcel are very large, colorful letters - “HAZ”.

Here are the LAT/LONGS of both “HAZ”s, at each end of the facility/parcel.
(The Lat/Longs are in a Google Earth format)
33° 6'56.76"N 112° 1’51.69"W
33° 6'23.27"N 112° 1’47.63"W

(For those who can't do LAT/LONGs, - Go here):

http://virtualglobetro...

Here’s what it actually is (or was):
U.S. Air Force Space Command, Gila River Site.

The facility was a “Space Surveillance radar transmitter site”, or “AN/FPS-133 Air Force Space Surveillance System”.

It was built to detect any objects orbiting over the USA.
This ‘Gila River’ facility provided low-altitude coverage at the East and West extremities of the overall network.
After the Russian Sputnik satellite orbited the earth in the late 1950s, surveillance of orbiting things was needed. The military had these type facilities all around the USA to monitor “stuff” in space.

Due to better and more accurate ways of doing surveillance, The Gila River system ceased operation in September 2013, but the “HAZ” at the ends still remains.

The HAZ at both ends of the facility = “HAZARD”, so light airplanes don’t think the facility is an airport.

Anyway - If you know about the “HAZ” at both ends of the facility - Cool !
If not - Here you go.
========================
The below article was written in 2012, when the facility was still active.
https://www.inmaricopa...

intriguing, a like would never cut it

Very cool. I forgot about that place. They also recorded weather observations for the NWS. Many years ago when I worked at the NWS in Phoenix, we went down there to check on the weather equipment. Back then there were Navy personnel running it. You would never it was there driving by on 347.

@rwstorm
It actually was run by the Navy for a long period time. The US Air Force was involved at the facility also, as were private contractors.

There was a sign stating it was a navy facility. We always laughed about it - middle of the desert.

mazatzal wrote:There was a sign stating it was a navy facility. We always laughed about it - middle of the desert.

How about China Lake?

I've only driven by CL twiche!

mazatzal wrote:I've only driven by CL twiche!

It has some great petroglyphs, but the general public can visit them at only a few brief times. You must have noticed it's as deserty a place as one could want, especially for a Naval Weapons Center.