Green Bank, West Virginia


Green Bank is a census-designated place in Pocahontas County in West Virginia's Potomac Highlands inside the Allegheny Mountain Range. Green Bank is located along WV 28. Green Bank is home to the Green Bank Observatory and is also close to the Snowshoe Mountain ski resort. As of the 2010 census, its population was 143.
The community was named for a green riverbank near the original town site.

National Radio Quiet Zone

Green Bank is located within the National Radio Quiet Zone, which means that radio transmissions are heavily restricted by law. This policy is enforced by a "radio policeman" who uses specialized equipment to detect signals from unauthorized electronics. Green Bank is home to the Green Bank Telescope, the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope, which was operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory until September 30, 2016. Since October 1, 2016, the Telescope has been operated by the Green Bank Observatory, which is no longer part of the NRAO. It was at the Green Bank Site in 1961 that Frank Drake presented the Drake Equation, which was developed to provide an estimate of the total number of detectable extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.
As Green Bank is located within the Quiet Zone, many people who claim to suffer from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, are finding new homes within its borders. "Escape" from cellular radiation is the main attraction to Green Bank for these people., an estimated 36 people have moved to Green Bank to escape the effects of electromagnetic hypersensitivity, although there is no scientific evidence that such a condition even exists or that persons who claim to suffer ill effects from EM fields can, under controlled conditions, determine the presence of EM fields or not.

Notable people