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Project Shoal was an Nevada Blast Begins Test Detection Effort
// ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', November 11, 1963, v. 79, no. 20, p. 119. Project Shoal was part of the
The test was performed on October 26, 1963. It involved detonating a 12-kiloton nuclear device in granitic rock at a depth of approximately below ground surface.
underground nuclear test
Underground nuclear testing is the test detonation of nuclear weapons that is performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the nuclear explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to ...
that took place on October 26, 1963 within the Sand Springs Range, approximately southeast of Fallon, Nevada
Fallon is a city in Churchill County, Nevada, Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahont ...
, in a granite formation of the range. The site was selected because its earthquake activity afforded a basis for seismic signal comparisons.// ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', November 11, 1963, v. 79, no. 20, p. 119. Project Shoal was part of the
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 involv ...
program sponsored jointly by the U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Vela Uniform was directed toward locating, detecting, and identifying underground detonations. The objective of Project Shoal was to detonate a nuclear device underground in an active seismic area so that seismic traces for the test and prior earthquakes could be compared and differentiated.
The test was performed on October 26, 1963. It involved detonating a 12-kiloton nuclear device in granitic rock at a depth of approximately below ground surface.
References
{{coord, 39.200, -118.381, display=title Explosions in 1963 Churchill County, Nevada American nuclear weapons testing 1963 in the United States Explosions in the United States