A Morning Visit to Trinity Site In Socorro County, New Mexico

Eric and I left Valley of Fires Campground at 6:00 am and drove west towards White Sands Missile Range Stallion Range Center in the predawn gloom.

Eric stops so I can take this

picture of dawn & the

brightening sky.

Trinity Site is the location where the first Atomic Bomb (device) was detonated on July 16, 1945.  This 51,500-acre area was added to the Register of  National Historic Places in 1966.  In 1975, the National Parks Service designated Trinity Site as a National Landmark.  It is open to the public twice a year, once in April and again in October.  Eric, and I along with many others visited on April 6, 2019.  The next day the Open House at Trinity Site is October 5, 2019.

We arrived at 6:50 am & waited

with about 30 other vehicles for

the Gate to open.

Each vehicle stops & Photo IDs

are checked.

Eric & I were also asked if we

had guns with us.  The answer

was, "No."

We & thousands of others will
pass this US Army
White Sands Missile Range
Stallion Range Center sign.

The Trinity Parking Lot has very

 few vehicles at 8:30 am.

I catch this shot of a woman
taking a photo of the
Caution Radiative Materials.

Radiation here at Trinity 
Site is low.

The 100 yard walk to Trinity Site

includes a visit to the White Sands

National Monument table to buy

souvenirs.

The heat and pressure of the July 16, 1915 blast created Trinitite, a greenish stone composed of fused sand particles.  Truckloads of the rock were removed from Trinity Site in 1952.  Many Rock and Gem dealers sell Trinitite.  Is it genuine?  I don't know.  Buyer beware. 

Trinitite is Government Property

Theft of the tiny specks of green
"glass" that are found at the blast 

site results in a fine & jail time.

Delicate white flowers grow

in this radioactive area.

This stone obelisk marks the exact

spot where The Gadget exploded

at 5:29:45 am on July 16, 1945.

The Plaque reads Trinity Site: Where the World's First Nuclear Device Was Exploded on July 16, 1945.  Here's a link to photos of the preparation of The Gadget and the blast.

Eric gets a selfie of himself & me as the crowds

build at the obelisk.

What is this giant segment

of metal tube that people

are gathered around?

This is the remains of Jumbo, the

 giant container constructed to

 hold The Gadget during the test.

If the Atomic detonation failed, Jumbo would contain the Plutonium so it wouldn't be lost. 
Processing Plutonium was a time consuming and expensive process.  If the test failed, Plutonium in The Gadget could be recovered and reused in another device.

Scientists were quite sure that The Gadget's detonation and its explosion would be successful.  Jumbo was placed in a steel a tower 800 yards away from the planned blast.
The Gadget exploded, as planned.  The steel tower vaporized, and the fractured remains
of Jumbo survived to become a display.

The successful July 16, 1945 test here allowed the planned bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 to proceed. Nagasaki was bombed on August 9, 1945,  Most of the two cities were destroyed and over 100 thousand Japanese citizens and military personnel were killed in the 

bombings.  Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14, 1945.   Many thousands of Japanese would die in the months that followed the bombings.

This is a replica of Fat Man, the

 Atomic Bomb that leveled

90% of Hiroshima on

August 6, 1945.

More visitors walking toward

Trinity Site as Eric & I walk

toward the Parking Lot.

Our next stop is Schmidt/McDonald Farmhouse, two miles from Trinity Site, where Plutonium was installed into The Gadget before detonation.