A report published in February suggests a county in Nevada is America’s #1 UFO hotspot, but there’s a major problem with the reportage.
Lincoln County, Nevada, is the go-to spot for all things UFO/UAP, with the most reports of strange sightings in our skies than any other in the U.S. between 2000 and 2023, according to analysis from Axios on the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC) data. Some 820.9 per 100,000 residents in Lincoln County reported some type of UFO between those dates.
“I would estimate that people who see stuff that they think is a UFO or that is an actual UFO — we think maybe 5% report it, maybe not even that,” NUFORC’s chief technology officer Christian Stepien told the outlet, echoing similar comments to News Nation.
Low reportage is a major issue within the field of UFO research. As a majority of alleged UFO events only have a handful of on-the-record witnesses, it’s hard for scientists to determine facts from fictional encounters. And things only get more complicated when you add locational context to the equation.
Lincoln County is home to the notorious Air Force Base known as Area 51. It’s probably the most mainstream place in the world known for strange phenomena, except for perhaps the Bermuda Triangle. Could it be that Lincoln County has such high rates of UFO reports because the military is testing out new technologies there? Almost certainly. (RELATED: Family, Cop Allegedly Witness Potential UFO Recorded In Strange Bodycam Video)
Dare County, North Carolina, also has an exceptionally high rate of UFO reports. The county is just a few hours’ drive from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. And the base uses the county as its primary training range for flight crews, according to the county’s REPI program.
So while these counties might seem like they’re high on the list of UFO hotspots, they’re probably just popular with the military. Sorry.