The Carson Sink was a deep portion of the
Pleistocene water body
Lake Lahontan, the lakebed of which is now the
Lahontan Basin. The
Carson Trail, used during the
California Gold Rush across the Lahontan Basin, included a section through the
Forty Mile Desert to the first drinkable water on the
Carson River. The Carson Sink station of the
Pony Express was built in March 1860. In June 1952, two
U.S. Air Force colonels flew a
B-25 bomber from
Hamilton Field near
San Francisco to
Colorado Springs,
Colorado. While passing over Carson Sink, the two reportedly saw three
unknown aircraft fly within 800 yards (731.5 m) of their aircraft before speeding out of sight seconds later. Upon landing, the two colonels reported the incident to the
Air Defense Command headquarters, who informed them that there were no military or civilian aircraft in the area at the time. The incident was never resolved and is known today as the Carson Sink UFO incident. In 1984, the natural dike between the Carson Sink and the
Humboldt Sink was breached by the
Nevada Department of Transportation to prevent
Interstate 80 and the town of
Lovelock from flooding due to unusually heavy snowfall in the preceding three years. The sinks remained connected by water for three years, until 1987. ==Panorama==