Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately 150 miles north of Los Angeles. It is the Navy’s largest single landholding, representing 38 percent of the Navy’s total land worldwide. More than 95 percent of its 1.1-million acres has remained undisturbed during the course of NAWS' mission. The 19,600 square miles of controlled airspace at China Lake provides an unprecedented venue for integrated testing and training of today’s warfighter.

NAWS China Lake supports and maintains more than 2,000 buildings and facilities, 386 miles of paved roads, and 333 miles of unpaved roads. The station is home to the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), Air Test and Evaluation Squadron THREE ONE (VX-31), Air Test and Evaluation Squadron NINE (VX-9), Marine Aviation Detachment (MAD), Explosive Ordnance Detachment Mobile unit THREE (EODMU-3), Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center Geothermal, and numerous small tenant activities. On-board personnel include approximately 700 military, 3,142 civil servants and 1,504 contractors.

China Lake is also home to the Coso Range Canyons which contain the highest concentration of rock art in the Western Hemisphere. The world-famous Little Petroglyph Canyon, declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964, is open to the public for tours. For more information on the petroglyphs at NAWS China Lake or public and private tours, please visit our website at www.cnic.navy.mil/ChinaLake/FamilyReadiness/PetroglyphTou... or call the NAWS Public Affairs Office at (760) 939-1283.