Rachel, Nevada | |
|---|---|
  .jpg)     Clockwise from top:
| |
  Rachel  Rachel | |
| Coordinates:37°38′21″N115°45′15″W / 37.63917°N 115.75417°W /37.63917; -115.75417 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Lincoln |
| Named after | Rachel Jones |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.24 km2 (4.34 sq mi) |
| • Land | 11.24 km2 (4.34 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.00 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,461 m (4,794 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 48 |
| • Density | 4.27/km2 (11.1/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-08:00 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code | 89001 |
| Area code | 775 |
| FIPS code | 32-58820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583953[2] |
| Website | www |
Rachel is acensus-designated place (CDP) inLincoln County, Nevada, United States. As of the2020 census, it had a population of 48.[3] As the closest settlement to theNellis Air Force Range andArea 51, Rachel enjoys a modest celebrity status, particularly among aviation enthusiasts andUFO hunters.
Rachel is over 100 miles (160 km) north ofLas Vegas in theGreat Basin Desert, alongNevada Highway 375 (the "Extraterrestrial Highway") in Nevada. The tiny town receives a substantial number of visitors and tourists, catered to by a small tourist shop, a 12-room motel, and an alien-themed restaurant and bar, the Little A'Le'Inn.[4]
Several unpaved roads near Rachel lead from Highway 375 to the boundary of Area 51.[5]
Rachel's resident population generally numbers around 50, with some of them involved inranching. Most of the year-round inhabitants live inmobile homes.[6] Rachel has never had apost office. The children are bussed toAlamo, approximately 50 miles (80 km) away, for school.[7] North of the town is theQuinn Canyon Range that has the ghost town ofAdaven.
Rachel was founded in May 1973 by a localalfalfa farmer named D.C. Day.[8] The community was first known as Tempiute Village, and then later as Sand Springs.[8]
On February 15, 1978, the town was renamed to Rachel after the first baby born in the valley, Rachel Jones (1978–1980). Rachel Jones died on May 24, 1980. In memory of her, Rachel residents created a cemetery and memorial park. Rachel Jones was not buried at Rachel Cemetery.[9]
Electricity arrived in Rachel on March 22, 1978, supplied to the Penoyer Valley by the Penoyer Valley Electric Cooperative.[9]
In 1980, the Rachel Baptist Mission, Rachel's only church, began service in a donated mobile home. Since then, a part-time pastor has come to Rachel for religious services every Sunday morning.
On July 10, 1986, at about 4:10 pm, twoF-16s of theNorwegian Air Force collided in mid-air while participating inRed Flag exercises near Rachel. One of them crashed within Rachel, only 25 yards (23 m) from the edge of a mobile home park. The pilot of the downed fighter had ejected safely before the crash, and the other F-16 made it back toNellis Air Force Base. The pilot of the downed F-16 suffered only minor injuries, and was transported from the crash site within 20 minutes of the incident by aU.S. Air Force helicopter.[10]
In 1995, the Rachel Baptist Mission moved into a permanent building at the same site that it had occupied previously.
In 2006,KFC created a giant company logo on the ground at the north edge of Rachel and claimed it to be the first logo visible fromspace.[11] Constructed in early November, it took six days to assemble the 65,000 colored tiles on 87,500 square feet (8,130 m2) of flat desert terrain.[12] The logo also had ahidden message on the tie area of the logo that featured an impostor colonel holding a sign over his head, reading "Finger Lickin' Good". The logo was removed in mid-2007.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 54 | — | |
| 2020 | 48 | −11.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] | |||
As of the census of2010,[14] there were 54 people, 32 households, and 14 families residing in the CDP. The racial makeup was 94.44%White, 3.70%Asian, and 1.85% from other races. 11.11% wereHispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 32 households, 6.25% had children under the age of 18, 25.00% weremarried couples, 6.25% had a male householder with no wife present, and 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present. 56.25% of households were made up of individuals, and 9.38% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.69 and the average family size was 2.50.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 16.67% ages 15 to 24, 59.26% ages 35 to 64, and 24.07% aged 65 and over. The median age was 52.5 years. 59.26% of the residents were male, and 40.74% were female.
Rachel has acold desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWk), with cold winters, warm summers and a highdiurnal temperature variation. The average annual high temperature is 68.5 °F (20.3 °C), while the average annual low temperature is 32.5 °F (0.3 °C). July has the highest average high at 91.8 °F (33.2 °C) and the highest average low at 53.8 °F (12.1 °C). January has the lowest average high at 46.0 °F (7.8 °C). December has the lowest average low at 14.2 °F (−9.9 °C). The highest temperature ever recorded was 104 °F (40 °C) in July[year needed] and the lowest temperature ever recorded was −20 °F (−29 °C) in January.[year needed]
Rachel receives 5.5 inches (139 mm) of precipitation, with the climate being consistently dry like the rest of theGreat Basin. July, the wettest month, receives 0.83 inches (21 mm) of rainfall on average. September, the driest month, receives 0.29 inches (7.4 mm) of rainfall on average. Rachel receives a few inches of snowfall every winter.
| Climate data for Rachel, Nevada (elevation 4,840ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) | 71 (22) | 79 (26) | 84 (29) | 94 (34) | 103 (39) | 104 (40) | 100 (38) | 97 (36) | 88 (31) | 76 (24) | 66 (19) | 104 (40) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.0 (7.8) | 52.2 (11.2) | 59.6 (15.3) | 65.3 (18.5) | 76.6 (24.8) | 84.9 (29.4) | 91.7 (33.2) | 89.7 (32.1) | 82.8 (28.2) | 70.6 (21.4) | 56.8 (13.8) | 46.7 (8.2) | 68.6 (20.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 14.4 (−9.8) | 20.1 (−6.6) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 31.2 (−0.4) | 39.9 (4.4) | 47.4 (8.6) | 53.7 (12.1) | 51.4 (10.8) | 41.6 (5.3) | 30.6 (−0.8) | 21.3 (−5.9) | 14.2 (−9.9) | 32.6 (0.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) | −17 (−27) | 7 (−14) | 11 (−12) | 20 (−7) | 27 (−3) | 36 (2) | 35 (2) | 24 (−4) | 11 (−12) | −1 (−18) | −18 (−28) | −21 (−29) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.33 (8.4) | 0.76 (19) | 0.40 (10) | 0.51 (13) | 0.31 (7.9) | 0.35 (8.9) | 0.81 (21) | 0.46 (12) | 0.29 (7.4) | 0.43 (11) | 0.47 (12) | 0.36 (9.1) | 5.47 (139) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.4 (6.1) | 1.2 (3.0) | 1.0 (2.5) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.2 (0.51) | 0.8 (2.0) | 6.3 (16) |
| Source: The Western Regional Climate Center[15] | |||||||||||||
While a localtungsten mine was operative, the community numbered over 500 inhabitants, but after the mine's closing in 1988, the population rapidly dwindled.
The Area 51 Research Center, a small UFO souvenir shop, closed in November 2001. It subsequently re-opened in a corner of the Little A'Le'Inn, previously the Rachel Bar and Gril.[8][16] It is a small bar, restaurant and motel located in Rachel, along theExtraterrestrial Highway. The business has been running for over 20 years and is frequented by visitors to the localArea 51. The inn opened circa 1989. The original owners were Joe (now deceased) and Pat Travis.[17]
Rachel was featured in an episode ofLouis Theroux's Weird Weekends which covered the UFO subculture.[citation needed] Rachel was mentioned in a two-part episode ofThe X-Files entitled "Dreamland", in which a secret agent aware of the hidden backstory of the show, played byMichael McKean, resided in the town and in which it is portrayed as much larger, and more suburban than it is in reality.[citation needed] It is also a key place in thefirst-person shooter gameBlackSite: Area 51.[citation needed]
In 1996, the producers of the movieIndependence Day gave the town atime capsule, which is installed near the inn and is intended to be opened in 2050.[18]
Beginning September 19, 2019, the day before theArea 51 Raid, people were reported showing up and camping around Rachel in preparation for the raid.[19]
InGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Little A'Le'Inn is referenced.[20] It can be found in Bone County, San Andreas in the vicinity of Area 69, the game's parallel to Area 51, using the name "Lil' Probe'Inn".[21]
Municipalities and communities ofLincoln County, Nevada,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Proposed communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
