This is home to the Hawthorne army base or, as it is sometimes called, “the world’s biggest depot.” What that means in practice is countless hangars, some small and others large, arrayed all the way across this dusty valley, covering a staggering 225 square miles. Many hold ammunition for the U.S. armed forces but inside some of these sheds are piles upon piles of critical metals, a kind of elemental war chest ahead of a coming industrial battle.[4]
