Project Shoal

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Project Shoal

Bell telephone magazine (1922) (14755768882).jpg

Installing a hydrodynamic gauge to measure the nuclear test
Information
Country United States
Test series Operation Niblick
Vela Uniform
Test site Sand Springs Range
Date October 26, 1963
Test type Underground
Yield 12 kt

Project Shoal was an underground nuclear test that took place on October 26, 1963 within the Sand Springs Range, approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Fallon, Nevada, [1] in a granite formation of the range. The site was selected because its earthquake activity afforded a basis for seismic signal comparisons. [2]

The Sand Springs Range is a short mountain range located in western Nevada in the United States within the Great Basin. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and is in Churchill County. It separates Salt Wells from Fairview Valley. To the north, it is separated from the Stillwater Range by Sand Springs Pass. To the south is Gabbs Valley.

Fallon, Nevada City in Nevada, United States

Fallon is a city in Churchill County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,606 at time of the 2010 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley.

Project Shoal was part of the Vela Uniform program sponsored jointly by the U.S Department of Defense 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.

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 many experts from academia, the sponsoring military agencies and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Cross Section of the Shoal Site Area Niblick Shoal - Geologic Cross Section.svg
Cross Section of the Shoal Site Area

The test was performed on October 26, 1963. It involved detonating a 12-kiloton nuclear device in granitic rock at a depth of approximately 1,211 feet (369 m) below ground surface.

Marker atop Project Shoal site in Nevada. Project Shoal marker.jpg
Marker atop Project Shoal site in Nevada.

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References

  1. Shoal Site Fact Sheet, DOE Office of Legacy Management
  2. Nevada Blast Begins Test Detection Effort. // Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 11, 1963, v. 79, no. 20, p. 119.

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