Owens Lake is a dry lake bed in eastern California, west of New Vegas
Background
The dry lakebed of Owens Lake was the staging ground for many raider attacks throughout the Sierra Nevada region of California, and attacks were commonplace until New Californian soldiers arrived in the region driving out any raider tribes.
Appearances
Owens Lake is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes
The real Owens Lake is also a dry lake bed just like its Fallout counterpart. It should not be confused with Owen's Dry Lake, Nevada.
It is located in Owens Valley, in Inyo County 5 miles from the town of Lone Pine. It did not become a dry lake until 1924, when William Mulholland commissioned an aqueduct project to divert water from the Owens River to the growing city of Los Angeles. Farmers in the fertile valley resisted in court (and sometimes violently) and tried to sabotage the project, but ultimately failed. These events became known as the "California Water Wars". With the river diverted, the lake dried up, and the once-fertile Owens Valley became a desert.