11 Close Encounters With Aliens and Explosions in New Mexico: 50 States of Wonder - Atlas Obscura

50 States of Wonder
11 Close Encounters With Aliens and Explosions in New Mexico

In the arid and remote expanses of New Mexico's landscape, booms and zooms abound. From the volatile effects of the Manhattan Project to the otherworldly possibilities of Roswell's UFO, the Land of Enchantment has never shied away from the controversial or far-reaching. Here are several places to encounter those legacies across this southwestern state.

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Research Facility

1. The Z Machine

Inside the Sandia National Laboratories research facility sits a machine of mind-boggling capacity: the Z Machine, the most powerful and efficient laboratory radiation source in the world. Capable of creating conditions found nowhere else on Earth, the machine can produce the same dense plasma found in white dwarf stars.

When the switch is flipped, 20 million amps zap a target at the heart of the machine, striking it with more than 1,000 times the electricity of a lightning bolt—and at 20,000 times the speed. (Read more.)

515 Eubank Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123

A giant meteorite made its mark. Ikluft/CC BY-SA 3.0
Impact Site

2. Santa Fe Shatter Cones

About 1.5 billion years ago, a giant meteorite slammed into what is now Santa Fe. The impact melted some of the rocks below the impact site. The pressure formed rock features known as shatter cones—a spray of little fracture lines in the shape of a fan. (Read more.

208-250 NM-475, Santa Fe, NM

The Very Large Array, a national radiotelescope facility located about 50 miles west of Socorro. John Fowler/CC BY 2.0
Telescopes

3. The Very Large Array

In western New Mexico, there are no trees and few towns—and that leaves plenty of room for the Very Large Array, 27 huge, white radio antennae arranged in a massive Y off U.S. Route 60. Each dish is 230 tons and 82 feet in diameter. Walking through the array is a unique, surreal, and humbling experience, especially at dawn or dusk, when the dishes cast mile-long shadows across the plains. Since its construction in the late 1970s, research has been conducted here on supernovae, black holes, dark energy and of course, SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life. (Read more.)

Old Hwy 60, Magdalena, NM 87825

They're here...at the International UFO Museum. kristykountz (Atlas Obscura User)
Museum

4. International UFO Museum and Research Center

Prior to the opening of the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1992, the city didn't really show any signs of being home to the famous “incident.” After being sought after by various UFO researchers, Lt. Walter Haut (who worked for the military in Roswell in 1947) had the idea of building the museum as an educational center for the public. The museum features tons of information regarding the “Roswell Incident” as well as alleged crop circles and abductions. It also holds purported autopsy reports, models of aliens and UFOs, and more. (Read more.)

124-168 N Main St, Roswell, NM 88203

The double arches at Roswell. Peter K./CC BY-SA 3.0
Fast Food

5. Roswell McDonald's

Roswell is world-famous for rumors about its extraterrestrial visitors, and the local McDonald’s gets in on the act with a UFO-shaped location. In a city where everything is inspired by aliens—even street lamps and mailboxes—the McDonald’s fits right in. (Read more.)

720 N Main St, Roswell, NM 88201

Red Herring

6. 109 East Palace Santa Fe

When you need to be dropped off at a top-secret research facility that does not exist, what address do you give the driver? For two decades, the answer was 109 East Palace in Santa Fe.

Located a few blocks from the city center, the unremarkable building served as the first stop for scientists working on the top-secret Manhattan Project in nearby Los Alamos. Dozens of scientists, technicians, and other workers would arrive each day to be ferried up to “the Hill,” where work on the atomic bomb (and possibly other secret science projects) actually took place. (Read more.)

109 East Palace, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Statues of Robert J. Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves at the Fuller Lodge Art Center. MikeWalker (Atlas Obscura User)
Community Center

7. Fuller Lodge Art Center

Fuller Lodge was constructed in 1928 for the Los Alamos Ranch School—a private school for boys, which emphasized outdoor skills. The federal government acquired the site in 1943, with the aim of using it for the Manhattan Project. During that time, Fuller Lodge was transformed into a dining hall for scientists, dozens of whom also stayed at the lodge during their tenure. (Read more.)

2132 Central Ave, Los Alamos, NM 87544

The detonation site is wide and flat. Obscurities (Atlas Obscura user)
Bomb Site

8. Trinity Atomic Bomb Site

"Trinity" was code for the first detonation of “The Gadget,” a nuclear device conceptually similar to its devastating cousin, “Fat Man.” The 600-foot-wide fireball obliterated trees, turned sand into glass, and blew out windows 120 miles away. (Read more.)

White Sands Missile Range, Socorro, NM

Landfill

9. Alamogordo Landfill

While there is some speculation as to whether or not the story is true, the Alamogordo Landfill is said to hold millions of unopened copies of E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, a 1982 video game that an embarrassed Atari Company was desperately trying to offload. (Despite the popularity of the film it was based on, the game adaptation is often referred to as one of the biggest busts ever.) According to local news sources, Atari rolled in between 10-20 truckloads of the game—among other systems and electronic junk—and had it crushed. Rumor has it they then buried all of the junk in the newly opened Alamogordo landfill. (Read more.)

4276 Highway 54 S, Alamogordo, NM 88310

A MK-17 thermonuclear bomb sits in the museum's Heritage Park. byteboy/CC BY 3.0
Museum

10. The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Through a series of exhibits, displays, artifacts, and hands-on models, the museum delves into the history of nuclear energy research, pioneers of the field, life in Los Alamos during the days of the Manhattan Project, the effects of the Atomic Age on society and pop culture, the moral quandaries nuclear weapons can create, and an array of other subjects ranging from nuclear waste disposal to the evolution of computers.

One of the most popular attractions of the museum is the five-acre outdoor Heritage Park, a sprawling exhibit of military aircraft, decommissioned rockets, missiles, cannons, and more. Heritage Park is the largest aircraft collection for public viewing in the state of New Mexico and includes an M65 Atomic Cannon (nicknamed "Atomic Annie," and one of only eight on display worldwide) and a Nike Hercules air-defense missile. (Read more.)

601 Eubank Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87123

An orange laser at the Starfire Optical Range cuts through the night. U.S. Air Force/Public Domain
Military Base

11. Starfire Optical Range

The U.S. Air Force has one of the most advanced directed-energy research facilities in the world, and it's in the desert eight miles outside of Albuquerque. The Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base has the dual mission of pursuing cutting-edge astronomical research and developing anti-satellite laser weapons. (Read more.)

Kirtland Air Force Base, Tijeras, NM

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Watch out for any chimp-gator hybrids lurking in the tea-colored water of Honey Island Swamp.

Sink Into 7 of Louisiana's Swampiest Secrets

Louisiana has long had a complex relationship with the wet world. Chitimacha, Choctaw, and Atakapa peoples built communities among the knobby knees of bald cypress trees; French fur traders and pirates eventually made their own marks. Later still, modern engineers attempted to corral waters with levees and dams, or to reclaim land where there had been none. Across the 50,000-odd square miles that make up the state, troves of special places are becoming concealed by rising water. Here are seven places water has revealed or covered up.

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Diego Rivera's mural sprawls across a light-flooded room in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

7 Mechanical Marvels in Michigan

Michigan is famous for its steep, sweeping sand dunes, freckling of lakes, and unique fossils—but across the state, you'll find slews of automated wonders, past and present. From old animatronic toys to the ruins of early assembly lines, here are seven places to be dazzled by industry.

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Who doesn't love an old tree?

11 Wholesome Spots in Nevada

Here at Atlas Obscura, we have a fondness for the forbidden, a hunger for the hidden, a gusto for the grim. (You get the point.) But it wouldn’t be so intrepid to simply highlight Nevada’s underbelly, would it? There’s more to the state than extraterrestrial-themed brothels and nuclear bomb test sites. Kids and grandparents might enjoy enormous Ferris wheels, unusual geysers, or pristine parklands. Even Nevada—home to Sin City—has a family-friendly side.

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All aboard for a plate of pancakes.

7 Places to Glimpse Maine's Rich Railroad History

Maine is widely known for its mottled red crustaceans and stony-faced lighthouses, as well as bucolic towns and the top-notch hiking outside of them. But before all that, Maine was all about one thing: trains. As America industrialized in the 19th century, there was an insatiable demand to build and a hunger for lumber. Maine had plenty of it, and the state’s rivers became swollen with the fallen bodies of pine and spruce, much of which was hauled by rail. Trains did the heavy lifting to coastal hubs including Bangor and Ellsworth, and by 1924, there was enough railroad mileage in Maine to get from London’s King's Cross station to Mosul, Iraq. Over the years, some of the old cars were fashioned into eateries, but many were simply abandoned in the woods. Now, relics of Maine’s railroad history are scattered in museums, restaurants, and more.

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At Glacier Gardens, the tree canopies are flowers in bloom.

11 Places Where Alaska Bursts Into Color

Picture Alaska. You might see in your mind's eye the granite and stark white snowcaps of Denali National Park, or the dark seas that surround 6,000-plus miles of coastline, or the muted olive of its tundra in the summer. But as anyone who's been there knows, the country's largest, most sparsely populated state can absolutely burst with color, from the luminous green of the Northern Lights, to the deep aqua of its glaciers, to the flourish of wildflowers fed by its long summer days. Here are some places to see the full spectrum of The Last Frontier.

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Workers assess the exterior of the Washington Monument after an earthquake in 2011.

9 Places in D.C. That You're Probably Never Allowed to Go

The District of Columbia is home to a number of places that you need to flash the right ID to access. From restricted rooftops to government storage facilities and underground tunnels, the city is filled with places that are off-limits to the average visitor. What’s more, many of them are hidden within popular tourist destinations and densely populated neighborhoods—so you might catch a glimpse of them, but never get any closer. These are a few of our favorite restricted spots in D.C., and the stories behind them.

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