October 26, 1963.
28 miles Southeast of Fallon, the Sand Springs range is going silent. It has been teeming with activity, but for now a brief respite for the rolling hills and granitic outcrops. It is the calm before the storm; at 10:AM the 20th century will greet these ancient knolls with a bang, and the ambassador is "Project Shoal."
After a series of earthquakes struck the area some 9 years previous, the site was selected to contribute to "Vela Uniform" (a part of "Project Vela"). On September 6, 1962 Public Land Order 2771 (amended by Public Land Order 2834) withdrew a 4 square mile area from the Bureau of Land Management and transferred authority to the AEC. A 1,205 foot shaft was sunk with a 1,050 foot drift was run to the East at that 1,205 foot level. And on our day here a 12.5 kiloton atomic bomb (or .8 of a Hiroshima "Little Boy" bomb) was detonated from that final location, just under 1/4 mile below the rangetop (well, not quite the summit, but close enough for government work).
The specific goal of Project Shoal was "...designed to investigate the behavior and characteristics of seismic signals generated by a nuclear detonation in a granite rock formation and to differentiate them from seismic signals generated by naturally occurring earthquakes." (See link below: "Remediation, Project Shoal Area.") Its parent, Vela Uniform, was born in 1959 as a joint project between the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission in order to, in the greater scheme of things, better detect nuclear detonations. All of this ultimately ended up under "Project Vela," a part of the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty (it's not that we didn't trust the Soviets, but...).
Currently there is no surface contamination at the site. The detonation created a chamber with a diameter of approximately 166-171 feet. This, upon collapse, created a "nuclear rubble chimney" ca. 356-446 feet high. This chimney, of course, contains radioactive contamination. However, considering the chimney did not compromise to the surface and is at a depth of ca. 759-849 feet below ground level (above the point of detonation) the lack of contamination at the surface becomes reasonably clear. Flowing groundwater is suspected of transporting radioactive contaminants, but due to the remote location and depth exposure is considered extremely unlikely.
Today the site is marked by a granite monument.
I have to appreciate the irony of the "style" of monument chosen.
Monitoring "stations" are also scattered about - big, red boxes that are impossible to miss.
I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the whole box.
But benchmarks are cool too, yes?
The tailings from the 1,204 foot shaft are also clearly visible at the site.
Being one of ten underground nuclear tests conducted outside the Nevada Test Site, the site is not without historical value. And excluding the dynamic (read: atomic) history of the location, this is a neat place to see. The visitor will be treated to sweeping vistas...
The Salt Wells are beautiful this time of year.
(Four Mile Flat w/ the Salt Wells Basin beyond and the
(Four Mile Flat w/ the Salt Wells Basin beyond and the
Lahontan Valley way beyond.)
...fancy geology...
Rocks will be rocks.
...and the local flora.
Close-minded people see brown; but many treasures await those with
an open mind, an open heart, and a little ground clearance.
The following links served as references (some of which are linked above). I highly recommend these as "for further reading."
Also, being in the hills just off of Frenchman Flat, this is a nice, easy jaunt for anybody visiting Dixie Valley, the Fairview Peak Earthquake Faults, the Centroid Facility, or just heading along Highway 50 East of Fallon in general (although GPS will help, the roads to the site are not marked).
Cool. I knew about the Earthquake Faults, having grown up in Fallon, however I did not know about the atomic testing. Thanks!
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