Editing SPOILER: Hopewell Facility (section)

== Area 51 in popular culture ==
[[Image:Area51.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Cover of the 2005 ''Area 51'' video game]] <!-- ''please'' don't add futher popular-culture images - on is sufficient, and more would weaken our fair-use assertion -->
The base is featured in episodes of the television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'', ''[[Futurama_(TV_series)|Futurama]]'', ''[[The X-Files]]'', ''[[Taken]]'', ''[[Seven Days]]'', ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', ''[[Kim Possible]]'', ''[[Megas XLR]]'' (as Area 50), and ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', the movies ''[[Groom Lake (movie)|Groom Lake]]'' and ''[[Independence Day (movie)|Independence Day]]'', and in the computer games ''[[Area 51 (video game)|Area 51]]'', ''[[Deus_Ex|Deus Ex]]'', ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]'', ''[[Tomb Raider|Tomb Raider III]]'', ''[[Perfect Dark]]'', ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater]]'', ''[[Twisted Metal 3]]'', ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' (called Area 69), ''[[Destroy All Humans!]]'' (called Area 42). ''[[Half-Life_(computer_game)|Half-Life]]'', which is set mostly in and around the fictional [[Black Mesa Research Facility]], is generally considered to be modeled after Area 51. It also features in several [[novel]]s by [[Dale Brown]] and a series of novels by [[Robert Doherty]] which take place after Area 51 scientists make contact with extraterrestrials.

Area 51 has been used in several role-playing games as a plot element. In the game ''[[Conspiracy X]]'', it is a safe facility and base of operations for the players' counter-extraterrestrial operations. On the flip side, in the ''[[Call of Cthulhu (role playing game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'' modern day conspiracy supplement ''[[Delta Green]]'', the base is the site of a foolish conspiracy's laboratory facilities for studying and intercepting otherworldly beings for study.  

Area 51 is the name given to a variety of unrelated products and companies, including a range of computers built by [[Alienware]],  the [http://area51.phpbb.com/ development area] for the [[phpBB]] forum software, one of the areas of the [[Geocities]] web hosting service, and numerous science-fiction bookstores and bulletin boards.

The worlds largest [[model railway]] in [[Hamburg]], [[Germany]] features a fictional Area 51 model in its [[USA|America]] section (with aliens playing [[basketball]] with base personnel).

The tiny town of [[Rachel, Nevada]] (the nearest settlement to the base) enjoys minor celebrity status as being "the official home of Area 51".  Located three hours from Las Vegas by car, Rachel receives a modest number of visitors year-round, and several small businesses offer food and lodging to visitors, together with aerospace and "alien" themed merchandising.  The visitor numbers are swelled yearly with aviation enthusiasts hoping to catch a glimpse of the [[RED FLAG exercise|Red Flag exercises]].  A small museum sells maps, photographs, badges, and other Area 51 material, and a local inn, aptly named "The Little A'le'Inn" proudly displays a [[time capsule]] received from the production crew of ''Independence Day''.