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1986 Map of Plutonium Valley

Name: 1986 Topographic Map of Plutonium Valley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1987
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1987

About this map

The Nevada Test Site dominates this mid-1980s landscape, revealing the specialized infrastructure of atomic-era testing. Centered on Plutonium Valley, the terrain is marked by numerous drill holes and multiple Blast Center locations, indicators of the underground and surface activities that defined this high-security zone. The topography transitions from the high peaks of Massachusetts Mountain and French Peak down to the stark dry basins of Yucca Lake and Frenchman Flat.

Evidence of technical operations appears in labels for a substation and Askania, while the eastern portion of the sheet shows the transition into the Nellis Air Force Range and the National Wildlife Range. The boundary between Nye and Lincoln counties runs through the Raysonde Buttes, providing a rare glimpse into the mapping of these restricted military and scientific corridors during the late Cold War.