Nevada National Security Site

Home to a nuclear-blasted replica of a typical American town and the country’s largest manmade crater, the Nevada National Security Site is a haven for atomic history buffs. Formerly known as the Nevada Test Site, this area—spanning 1,350 square miles just an hour northwest of Las Vegas—was home to 928 nuclear detonation tests between 1951 and 1992.

The Nevada National Security Site remains active as a research facility to this day, but tours departing from the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas offer an up-close look at nuclear history for visitors who pass the required background checks. Tours of the site are a full-day affair, covering almost 250 miles on site by chartered bus.

Notable destinations within the National Security Site include Mercury, Nevada: a former company town for personnel at the test site. Established in 1950 as Base Camp Mercury, consisting of mostly temporary structures, the facility quickly expanded into a real town with a post office, and was renamed Mercury. In the 1960s, Mercury had room for 10,000 workers, with facilities including entertainment options like a bowling alley, movie theater, and a pool, as well as healthcare facilities, a steakhouse, and an interfaith chapel. After operations at the security site scaled back in 1992, many buildings in Mercury have been demolished or repurposed.

Atomic history curiosities along the tour include a number of typical American houses subjected to nuclear detonations. At one site, visitors can see a replica town with five houses, a propane tank filling station, an electrical transformer, and a radio station, as well as cars parked at varying distances from ground zero. The buildings incorporated a variety of different construction materials, and were furnished and equipped with clothed mannequin inhabitants, as well as a selection of canned and frozen foods. The aftermath of the blast from the 29-kiloton nuclear device can still be seen to this day.

Visitors also stop by Sedan Crater, which is the largest man-made crater in the United States. The crater, which is 320 feet deep and 1,280 feet in diameter, is the aftermath of a 104-kiloton thermonuclear device detonated underground to determine whether such devices could be used for excavation and mining projects.

Other points of interest include a repurposed gun turret used to shelter measuring equipment, a tower built for a 1993 test that was canceled before it took place, and facilities used for disaster response training and nuclear waste disposal.