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Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is located in the Antelope Valley region of the western Mojave Desert in southern California, approximately 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. The Base occupies an area of approximately 301,000 acres, or 470 square miles. Portions of the Base lie within Kern, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. Broad alluvial valleys surrounded by low hills of consolidated bedrock characterize Edwards AFB. Two large playa lakes, Rogers and Rosamond dry lakes, and numerous small playa lakes occupy the alluvial valleys. The upland areas in the northwestern part of the base (Rosamond Hills and Bissell Hills) and in the east/southeastern part of the base (Leuhman Ridge and Mount Mesa) are underlain by consolidated bedrock. The contacts between the valley fill and the consolidated bedrock at the edges of the valleys are shallowly dipping in most places, but occasionally are faulted and near vertical. Also, at the edges of the valleys, gently sloping alluvial plains and fans extend into the lowland areas. Surface water drains from the nearby Tehachapi and San Gabriel mountains terminating in the lowland playa lakes. This surface drainage is the principal source of the groundwater recharge; however, much of it is lost to evaporation. Operable Unit 3 (OU3) encompasses eight abandoned water well locations throughout the base that were suspected as potential contaminant pathways to groundwater. These well locations, identified by historical and archival research, surveys, and homestead records, were cataloged for investigation. During the early 1900s, settlers in the Mojave Desert began claiming parcels of land under the Homestead and Desert Land laws. Under these laws, settlers could claim up to 160 acres of land. The first settlers tried to dry farm the land, but drought forced them to start digging wells to supply underground water for domestic and agricultural uses. During the late 1920s, the military began using the area as a
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