At the end of the Second World War, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, thus beginning the atomic age. In the context of the developing Cold War, and remembering the lessons of the past, General Charles de Gaulle set a course for the complete military independence of France. On October 18, 1945, by his order, the Atomic Energy Administration (CEA) was created, with the aim of developing scientific nuclear research, nuclear industry and nuclear weapons.
The path to the atomic bomb in France consisted of several successive steps: in 1946, a deposit rich in uranium ore was discovered in Limousin, which made France independent in terms of obtaining raw materials for the nuclear industry; the launch of the first Zoe nuclear reactor at Fort Chatillon (5 km south of Paris) in 1947; the launch of the first French nuclear power plant in Marcoule in 1955, where not only electricity was generated, but also weapons-grade plutonium.
In April 1958, amid the crisis of the "Fourth Republic", French Prime Minister Felix Gaillard signed a government decision to test the atomic bomb. After de Gaulle's return to power, this decision is not only not canceled, but its implementation is comprehensively accelerated.
However, conducting nuclear weapons tests is faced with the problem of choosing a site for them, in the end, when considering options between the Polynesian islands and the Sahara Desert, the choice fell on the latter. In Algeria, in the region of the Regan oasis, a nuclear test site with a scientific center and a camp for research personnel is being built. And on February 13, 1960, the first nuclear test takes place - France becomes the fourth participant in the so-called. "Nuclear Club".
The first French nuclear test, called the "Gerboise Bleue", was rated at 70 kilotons, three times the power of the Kid bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In April and December 1961 and April 1962, three more atmospheric atomic explosions are taking place in the Sahara.
France's acquisition of the atomic bomb met with a wave of criticism from the "senior" nuclear powers, primarily the United States, which saw France as a new competitor for world hegemony. In addition, the tests in the Sahara caused political demarches from the newly independent African states due to fears of contamination of the continent.
In this regard, the tests were transferred underground and in 1962-1963 thirteen underground nuclear explosions were carried out at the Reggan test site.
After the Evian Accords - de Gaulle's recognition of the independence of Algeria, the French had to move the main nuclear test site to the atolls of Mururoa and Fangatauf during French Polynesia, however, according to the Evian agreements, up to 1966 in the Sahara, up to 40 nuclear tests were carried out, the data on which are still classified.
In 1963, construction of a new nuclear test site with a research center and infrastructure began in Polynesia.
On July 1, 1966, the first nuclear weapons test is carried out at a new test site - Operation Aldebaran - atomic bomb was blown up on a barge.
In mid-September of the same year, the atmospheric explosion "Betelgeuse" takes place, on which Charles de Gaulle is present - the nuclear device was suspended from a balloon at an altitude of 600 meters. in 1967-1968, eight tests were carried out.
Exactly 13 years ago, the last adit of the Semipalatinsk test site was liquidated. In honor of this date, we have chosen 6 places where nuclear weapons tests were carried out and which may well become objects of extreme tourism.
Probably the most famous nuclear weapons test site in the former Soviet Union. In many ways, his fame is provided by the very ominous popularity of these places - testing of the latest weapons has polluted large territories of Russia and Kazakhstan, the local population still suffers from the consequences, and products from these places are notorious and, as a rule, are ignored. Today the landfill is a place not protected by the authorities, storing craters from explosions, which have become lakes, and many neglected infrastructure facilities. All the adits at the Semipalatinsk test site were blown up, so those thirsting for a strange romance visit some of the eerie places on Earth they can only examine their remains.
The deceiving image of this tropical paradise nestled in the archipelago Marshall Islands, carries a mortal danger - a place that could become popular resort still chirps ominously with Geiger counters. This is probably one of the most popular places The Americans' testing of their nuclear arsenal is only becoming more attractive to tourists, many of whom, disregarding warnings, go to rest on the deserted beaches of Bikini. Considering that after the tests, almost a thousand people died from various diseases on the island itself and another two thousand after emigrating from Bikini, this is really the most extreme beach vacation in the world.
One of largest islands world could become a popular nature reserve among eco-tourists, offering guests also interesting ethnographic finds. But now this frosty piece of land, where large-scale nuclear tests were carried out during the Soviet Union, can only be enjoyed by desperate extremals. They may be interested in the development of wildlife in the entourage of the remains of landfills, and they will not be deterred by the closed status of these lands. To get to New earth, you need a special pass, but the risk of getting into problems does not scare all stalkers, for whom many mothballed military facilities are too much of a bait.
New Mexico's white sands ringing American city Alamogordo, keep the history of the first atomic explosion in the history of mankind - it was at this test site that the first nuclear bomb "Trinity" was tested, the "children" of which will have to create the most terrible catastrophe in the history of mankind. What is remarkable, now the landfill has been turned into tourist site, which hosts visitors twice a year, who are told about the history of the trials and shown a commemorative funnel.
The wastelands of Nevada took over the power of almost a thousand nuclear warheads, increasing the flow of tourists to Las Vegas until the early nineties - mushrooms from the explosions were visible even at a distance of one and a half hundred kilometers. Today, cunning businessmen organize tourist excursions to the landfill, dotted with numerous craters, book places for which they have to book a few months before the desired date - there is no end to those wishing to visit one of the largest nuclear test sites. And they are not afraid of either the high level of radiation, or the many conditions that prohibit, for example, taking cameras and mobile phones with them.
The tropical island located in French Polynesia, like Bikini, could have become an excellent tropical resort, if the French authorities had not prepared for it a different fate. Nearly two hundred nuclear explosions have not only polluted clean beaches islands, but even after one unsuccessful test significantly (official Paris still does not disclose the extent) affected the surrounding waters. Mururoa's uninhabited status allows amateurs extreme rest visit these places, which look like a tourist's paradise, at your own risk.
- (Mururoa), small coral island atoll in the Pacific Ocean, in arch. Tuamotu, part of French Polynesia. Venue for France to test thermonuclear weapons. Dictionary of modern geographical names... Yekaterinburg: At the Factory. Under… … Geographical encyclopedia
Mururoa- (Mururoa) Mururoa, atoll, remote atoll in the South Pacific, in the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia, since 1966. used by France for nuclear tests ... Countries of the world. Dictionary
Tatakoto Location Pacific Ocean Tuamotu Coordinates Coordinates ... Wikipedia
Fr. Tureia ... Wikipedia
- "Unicorn" (fr. Licorne) the largest thermonuclear explosion in France, made on July 3, 1970 at the Mururoa Atoll. The explosion power was equal to 914 kilotons. The "Unicorn" was produced by a TN 60 warhead. The nuclear device was dropped ... ... Wikipedia
Fr. Fangataufa ... Wikipedia
Fr. Vanavana ... Wikipedia
Fr. Tematangi ... Wikipedia
Occupation: poet, writer, literary critic, public and political figure of Kazakhstan Date of birth: May 18, 1936 (19360518) Place of birth ... Wikipedia
Olzhas Omarovich Suleimenov Occupation: poet, writer, literary critic, public and political figure of Kazakhstan Date of birth: May 18, 1936 (19360518) Place of birth ... Wikipedia
Books
- Proofreader, Golovachev Vasily Vasilievich. None of the atomic scientists on Earth could have imagined that their nuclear test sites in Nevada and near the island of Mururoa would give life to intelligent supersaurs - the "cavalry of the Universe." Exactly…
- Proofreader, Golovachev Vasily Vasilievich. None of the atomic scientists on Earth could have imagined that their nuclear test sites in Nevada and near the island of Mururoa would give life to intelligent supersaurs - 171; cavalry of the Universe 187;. ...
