History
The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned atmospheric nuclear testing. This led to a requirement for an underground test area that could accommodate higher yield tests than Yucca Flat.
Pahute Mesa was seen as ideal due to its geology and distance of over 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Las Vegas. Holes can be drilled to a depth of more than 1,370 metres (4,490 ft). This allows tests in the megaton range to be fully contained with minimal ground motion being felt in Las Vegas.
Pahute Mesa was thus incorporated into the boundary of the NNSS in late 1963 under an agreement between the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. Air Force.
Read more about this topic: Pahute Mesa
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Don’t give your opinions about Art and the Purpose of Life. They are of little interest and, anyway, you can’t express them. Don’t analyse yourself. Give the relevant facts and let your readers make their own judgments. Stick to your story. It is not the most important subject in history but it is one about which you are uniquely qualified to speak.”
—Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966)
“Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There is no history of how bad became better.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)