As the Lambda Paz surface in TNG "Final Mission"
As the surface of Ocampa in "Caretaker"
The El Mirage Dry Lake Bed is a location in the Mojave desert in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, California. It was used for filming the surface of Lambda Paz in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "Final Mission" in 1990. In 1994, it was used to portray the surface of the Ocampa homeworld, including the Kazon-Ogla camp in the Star Trek: Voyager pilot episode "Caretaker". In 2002, the production used the midway between the El Mirage Dry Lake Bed and the Edwards Air Force Base to shoot the scenes on the Kolarus III surface in Star Trek Nemesis.
Actors Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang and director Winrich Kolbe on location for "Caretaker"
Actor Garrett Wang later remarked that, during the filming of "Caretaker", Director of Photography Marvin V. Rush arrived at the location in his own personal helicopter. [1]
Stand-ins Dennis Tracy and Randy Pflug on location for "Final Mission"
Filming for "Caretaker" took place on Tuesday 27 September 1994 and Wednesday 28 September 1994. Additional scenes depicting this location were later filmed on Paramount Stage 16. Lisa White worked as location manager.
The location was also used for several other film and television projects including the science fiction film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984), action film Lethal Weapon (1987), the science fiction sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the Western comedy Maverick (1994), an the comedy remake Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005). The El Mirage Dry Lake Bed can also be seen in the opening sequence of the television series Knight Rider (1982-1987).
Several musicians also filmed their music videos on this location such as Shania Twain with "That Don't Impress Me Much", Josh Groban with "You Are Loved", and Metallica with "I Disappear".