Sedan Crater


Sedan Crater is the result of the Sedan nuclear test and is located within the Nevada Test Site, southwest of Groom Lake, Nevada. The crater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1994.
The crater is the result of the displacement of of earth. Over 10,000 people per year visit the crater through free monthly tours offered by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office. Its closest Soviet counterpart is the slightly wider Chagan crater which filled in to create Lake Chagan.

History and description

The crater was created on July 6, 1962 by a thermonuclear explosion. The device was buried below the desert floor in Area 10 of Yucca Flat and was the largest cratering shot in the Plowshare Program. The explosion created fallout that affected more US residents than any other nuclear test, exposing more than 13 million people to radiation. Within 7 months of the excavation, the bottom of the crater could be safely walked upon with no protective clothing and photographs were taken.
Because the craters at the Nevada Test Site have features similar to the topography of Moon craters, 11 of the 12 American astronauts who walked on the moon trained in Nevada before their missions.
Russian thistle, also known as tumbleweed, is the primary plant species along with some grasses. Analysis in 1993 observed that the original perennial shrubs once living there had shown no recovery.

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