Sedan Crater is the result of the Sedan

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

and is located within the

Nevada Test 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 th ...

, southwest of

Groom Lake, Nevada Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...

(Area 51). The crater was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on March 21, 1994. The crater is the result of the displacement of of earth. Over 10,000 people per yearNevada Test Site History. ''Sedan Crater''
visit the crater through free monthly tours offered by the U.S. Department of Energy,

National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and e ...

Nevada Site Office (although its website now states it’s permanently closed). Its closest

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

counterpart is the slightly wider Chagan crater which filled in to create

Lake Chagan Lake Chagan (russian: Чаган) or Lake Shagan ( kk, Шаған, ''Şağan''), also known as Lake Balapan, is a lake in Kazakhstan created by the Chagan nuclear test on January 15, 1965, which was conducted as part of the Soviet Union Nucle ...

History and description

The crater was created on July 6, 1962 by a

thermonuclear Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...

explosion. The device was buried below the desert floor in Area 10 of

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, ...

and was the largest cratering shot in the

Plowshare Program 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 ...

. The explosion created fallout that affected more US residents than any other nuclear test, exposing more than 13 million people to radiation. Within 7 months of the excavation, the bottom of the crater could be safely walked upon with no protective clothing and photographs were taken.

Russian thistle Russian thistle is a common name that can refer to: * ''Echinops exaltatus'', also known as ''Russian globe thistle'', is a globe thistle native to Eurasia and an invasive species in Eastern Canada and Northern United States. * ''Kali tragus'', fo ...

, also known as tumbleweed, is the primary plant species growing in the crater along with some grasses. Analysis in 1993 observed that the original perennial shrubs once living there had shown no recovery.Sedan Crater at Nevada Online
/ref>

Statistics

* Maximum depthInformation sign at the crater: Nevada Test Site - Sedan Crater - 4

* Maximum diameter * VolumeProject Sedan, On-Site Radiological Safety Report
/ref> * Weight of material lifted * Maximum lip height * Minimum lip height

References

External links

Sedan Nuclear Test- Original Military Film - YouTube

Nevada National Security Site History - Sedan Crater (PDF)

The Nuclear Sedan Crater of Nevada
{{use American English, date=December 2012 Explosion craters Nuclear history of the United States Peaceful nuclear explosions Tourist attractions in Nye County, Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Nye County, Nevada

History and description

Statistics

See also

References

External links