Pahute Mesa or Paiute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). It occupies 243 square miles (630km2) in the northwest corner of the NNSS in Nevada. The eastern section is known as Area 19 and the western section as Area 20.[1][2]
This article is about the nuclear test region. For the landform extending further northwest, see Pahute Mesa (landform). For other uses, see Pahute (disambiguation).
Location of Pahute Mesa within the Nevada National Security Site
History
The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned atmospheric nuclear testing. This led to a requirement for an underground test area that could accommodate higher yield tests than Yucca Flat.
Pahute Mesa was seen as ideal due to its geology and distance of over 160 kilometers (99mi) from Las Vegas. Holes can be drilled to a depth of more than 1,370 meters (4,490ft). This allows tests in the megaton range to be fully contained with minimal ground motion being felt in Las Vegas.
Pahute Mesa was thus incorporated into the boundary of the NNSS in late 1963 under an agreement between the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Air Force.[3]
Geology and climate
Aerial view of Pahute Mesa
Pahute Mesa is part of the Tonopah Basin and includes the Silent Canyon caldera complex of the Southwest Nevada volcanic field.
Rugged terrain features and harsh winter conditions make year-round operations difficult.
Nuclear testing
A total of 85 nuclear tests were conducted in Pahute Mesa between 1965 and 1992.[2] Three of them—Boxcar, Benham and Handley—had a yield of over one megaton.[2] Three tests were conducted as part of operation Plowshare and one as part of Vela Uniform.[2]
The Soviet Union flag is raised to the top of the emplacement tower to be flown beside the U.S. flag for the Kearsarge test.
In 1988, as a prelude to the signing of the protocols to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty, the United States and the Soviet Union conducted two joint tests employing proposed treaty verification techniques. The first was Kearsarge, conducted in Area 19 of the NNSS, the second Shagan, conducted at the Semipalatinsk Test Site.[2]
Radioactive contamination
The following tests resulted in a release of radioactivity that was detected outside of the NNSS.[2]
The Schooner plume spread plutonium and other radionuclides across Area 20 and northward into Nellis Air Force Range.[5] According to measurements taken in 2001, the Schooner crater has the highest annual mean concentration of radioactive tritiated water of any area of the NNSS.[6]
Other uses
Apollo 16 astronauts train in the Lunar rover by driving over a near-lunar landscape at the Schooner crater site in Area 20
The Pahute Control Point is located in Area 18, south of Pahute Mesa. It was used until 1971 to monitor tests in Pahute Mesa.
The Pahute Mesa Airstrip, also in Area 18, was used to ship supplies and equipment to Pahute Mesa.[1]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pahute Mesa.
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office (July 2011), "chapter 2"(PDF), Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement Nevada{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Hechanova, A.E.; O’Neill, L.J. (May 1998), Description of the Nevada Test Site and Nellis Air Force Range Complex Activities in Nevada, Las Vegas, NV: Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies, University of Nevada
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office (June 2004). "Apollo Astronauts Train at the Nevada Test Site"(PDF). Fact Sheets.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Energy.
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Nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States
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