Archaeology of an atomic test site

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That first picture looks familiar. Isn’t it the movie set where they filmed the first moon landing?

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It was explained to me that the pigpens were also to shield the test subjects from the intense thermal pulse so that they’d live to express whatever radiation effects they’d get from the detonation. I’m guessing “test site veterinarian” might not have been the most uplifting of jobs.

The test site is an awe inspiring place. Frenchmans Flats is just the start of it. Hopefully it can one day be opened to the public before these artifacts collapse into the alluvium. Pro-nuke or anti-nuke - it’s really something to see.

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I’d go for such trip in an eyeblink.

http://www.nv.energy.gov/outreach/tours.aspx

I have no idea how limited the tours are - many of the sites listed may just be “windscreen” tours but the public can actually get onto the site. Sedan crater is amazing, as are the hundreds of subsidence craters (collapsed underground tests) that you’d pass on your way to Sedan. Bonus at Sedan is that Area 51 is just over one of those hills.

If you can swing it this would be a cool (long) day trip from Las Vegas…

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