By the late 1960s the U.S. government was anxious to find some use for its surplus of nuclear bombs. Its friends in the petroleum industry had the answer: explode them underground to release natural gas! It would be a lot faster and cheaper than drilling.
On September 10, 1969, that's what the U.S. government did. A 40-kiloton atomic bomb was blown up here, a little over a mile underground. The explosions released lots of natural gas -- but it was too radioactive to ever be used.
The project was abandoned, the shaft was sealed with cement, and a concrete marker and plaque now mark this remote site.
