To this date, 928 nuclear tests have been conducted in Nevada.
To date, in 1951, the United States held the first nuclear test in the state of Nevada. This test area (the so-called Nevada Test Site) will become the most used US nuclear test site at all. To date, an incredible 928 nuclear explosions have taken place in Nevada, more than anywhere else on our planet.
The first nuclear explosion in Nevada occurred in an area of a drained lake called Frenchman Flat. It is a flat surface in the valley between the surrounding mountains. Interestingly, of all the nuclear test sites in Nevada, Frenchman Flat is the closest to Las Vegas. From the site of the atomic bomb explosion to this day in 1951 to the first suburbs of Las Vegas, there are only about 100 kilometers of airline.
The bomb was dropped today from a B-50 Superfortress bomber. The power of the nuclear blast was about five kilotons, relatively small compared to the bomb previously dropped on Hiroshima (which was about 16 kilotons). Interestingly, the first American nuclear cannon was tested later at Frenchman Flat. In fact, this is the only area that has ever been hit by a shotgun from such a cannon.
