The Mapimí Silent Zone ( es, La Zona del Silencio) is the popular name for a desert patch near the Bolsón de Mapimí in Durango,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, overlapping the

Mapimí Biosphere Reserve The Mapimí Biosphere Reserve ( es, Reserva de la Biósfera de Mapimí) (established 1977) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in the state of Durango in northern Mexico. It is one of three biosphere reserves representing the Chihuahuan Desert ( ...

. It is the subject of an

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

that claims it is an area where radio signals and any type of communications cannot be received.

History and legends

The area was once an ancient seabed in the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

, which left marine fossils and large salt deposits which are mined today. In July 1970, an Athena RTV test rocket launched from the Green River Launch Complex in Utah towards the

White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National P ...

in New Mexico lost control and fell in the Mapimí Desert region. When the rocket went off course, it was carrying two small containers of cobalt 57, an isotope used in " salted bombs" to intentionally contaminate large areas of land. As part of the cleanup effort, hundreds of tons of soil were removed from the impact site. As a result of the US Air Force recovery operation, a number of myths and legends relating to the area arose. Reportedly, a local resident hired to guard the crash debris during recovery operations helped spread these rumors. Legends include "strange magnetic anomalies that prevent radio transmission", mutations of flora and fauna, and extraterrestrial visitations, which have been used by locals to promote tourism in the region.

History and legends

See also

References

Further reading