AMERICAN NUCLEAR MOONSCAPE - NUCLEAR TESTS INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWING CRATERS LEFT ON THE GROUND

America's nuclear moonscape: Interactive map reveals craters blasted into the Nevada desert during decades of nuclear weapons tests

It looks like the surface of the Moon but this pock-marked landscape is actually the result of decades of nuclear weapons testing in the Nevada desert.

 

As the Second World War ended and the Cold War began, the U.S. military detonated hundreds of devices in its desert test site, with the last explosions taking place in 1992.

 

When testing first began in the 1950s, few residents living near the site were concerned by the rumble of explosions or mushroom-shaped clouds on the horizon. But fears about radiation poisoning, and peace protests in later decades, put pressure on the military to end the tests.

Thanks to a series of interactive maps developed by data visualization team Esri, the impact of decades of testing can be seen on the 1,360sq mile stretch of land.  On the company's America's Nuclear Moonscape site, web users can see the craters left behind and view a chronological list of the explosions that shows the date and reason for the test.

 

While many were listed as 'weapons development' and 'weapon effect' other labels on the site show the nuclear detonations were set off for 'peaceful research' and 'safety experiment'.

One of the biggest scars left behind, the Sedan Crater, was created on July 6, 1962 as the Army tested whether nuclear devices could be used for civilian purposes, like excavating reservoirs.

See pictures and interactive map  - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2558673/Out-world-Interactive-map-reveals-Moon-like-craters-blasted-Nevada-desert-decades-nuclear-weapons-tests.html

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