Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy, Radio interferometer in the Inyo Mountains, California, US

The Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy was a heterogeneous array of 23 Cassegrain radio telescopes at Cedar Flat in the Inyo Mountains, reached via Westgard Pass. Six antennas measured 10.4 m, nine 6.1 m and eight 3.5 m in diameter; all signals were combined in a purpose-built correlator to form high-resolution images.

CARMA was dedicated in 2006, combining telescopes from three institutions: six 10.4 m antennas from Caltech's Owens Valley Radio Observatory, nine 6.1 m antennas from the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association, and eight 3.5 m antennas of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array built at the University of Chicago. The first fifteen telescopes began collecting data together in November 2006. Operations ended in April 2015, and the antennas were moved to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory for storage.

The site served as a meeting point for astronomers from different research institutions who shared a common goal of studying distant cosmic objects. This collaborative environment shaped how scientists worked together and exchanged findings at this remote mountain location.

The telescopes were dismantled and moved to the Owens Valley Radio Observatory for storage after operations ended in April 2015, so there is no working facility to visit at Cedar Flat. The site lies in the Inyo Mountains east of the Owens Valley, reached via Westgard Pass and Highway 168; the former Cedar Flat Group Camps were relocated west of the highway to make room for the array.

The facility employed special techniques to overcome atmospheric water vapor interference, allowing precise measurements at extremely short wavelengths. This capability made it possible to detect fine details of objects so distant they would otherwise be barely observable.