Pahute Mesa or Paiute Mesa is one of four major nuclear test regions within the

Nevada National Security Site The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the ...

(NNSS). It occupies in the northwest corner of the NNSS in Nevada. The eastern section is known as Area 19 and the western section as Area 20.

History

The

Partial Test Ban Treaty The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all nuclear weapons testing, test detonations of nuclear weapons exce ...

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 Yucca Flat is a closed desert drainage basin, one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and is divided into nine test sections: Areas 1 through 4 and 6 through 10. Yucca Flat is located at the eastern edge of NTS, ...

. Pahute Mesa was seen as ideal due to its

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and distance of over from Las Vegas. Holes can be drilled to a depth of more than . This allows tests in the megaton range to be fully contained with minimal

ground motion Ground motion is the movement of the earth's surface from earthquakes or explosions. Ground motion is produced by seismic waves that are generated by sudden slip on a fault or sudden pressure at the explosive source and travel through the earth a ...

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 The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President H ...

and the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Geology and climate

Pahute Mesa is part of the

Tonopah Basin The Great Basin Desert is part of the Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Range. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife Fund, and the Central Basin a ...

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. Three of them—''Boxcar'', ''Benham'' and ''Handley''—had a yield of over one megaton. Three tests were conducted as part of

operation Plowshare Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...

and one as part of

Vela Uniform Vela Uniform was an element of Project Vela conducted jointly by the United States Department of Energy and the Advanced Research Projects Agency. Its purpose was to develop seismic methods for detecting underground nuclear testing, and it involved ...

In 1988, as a prelude to the signing of the protocols to the

Threshold Test Ban Treaty The Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests, also known as the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT), was signed in July 1974 by the United States and Soviet Union. It establishes a nuclear "threshold" by prohibiting nuclear tests ...

and the

Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) are nuclear explosions conducted for non-military purposes. Proposed uses include excavation for the building of canals and harbours, electrical generation, the use of nuclear explosions to drive spacecraft, and a ...

, 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 The Semipalatinsk Test Site (Russian language, Russian: Семипалатинск-21; Semipalatinsk-21), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located on the steppe in northeast ...

Radioactive contamination

The following tests resulted in a release of radioactivity that was detected outside of the NNSS. The ''Schooner'' plume spread

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

and other radionuclides across Area 20 and northward into Nellis Air Force Range. 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.

Other uses

The ''Schooner'' crater area resembles the lunar landscape. It was used along with other areas of the NNSS to train some of the astronauts of the Apollo program, among them Neil Armstrong, Richard F. Gordon Jr., Dick Gordon, Buzz Aldrin, David Scott, Dave Scott and Rusty Schweickart. In 1970, the Apollo 16 team of John Young (astronaut), John Young and Charles Duke, Charlie Duke trained at Schooner in the Lunar Roving Vehicle, lunar rover.

Supporting infrastructure

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.

References

Globalsecurity.org. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Library. ''Nevada Test Site Final Environmental Impact Statement''. Figure 4-30: Approximate area of plutonium contamination exceeding 10 pCi/g on the NTS.
/ref> {{US Nuclear Tests History of Nevada Nevada Test Site Volcanic fields of Nevada Calderas of Nevada