Trinity Site - WSMR, NM

There is no more emblematic site from the Cold War than Trinity Site. It was here that a handful of scientists and observers witnessed the world’s first atomic explosion. This event led to the nuclear attacks that defeated Imperial Japan and effectively concluded World War 2. What followed was a decisive shift of the USA and USSR from strategic competitors to nuclear rivals.

Trinity Site is a two hour drive “up-range” from the main post of White Sands Missile Range via paved and unpaved roads located within the base perimeter. It is situated in a broad and barren desert just west of the Oscura Mountains. The naming of Trinity Site was allegedly inspired by John Donne’s Holy Sonnet 14 which begins with the line “Batter my heart, three-person’d God,”. The site is open to the public on a limited basis, typically once or twice a year.

The only obvious remains of the explosion is one of the tower footings, now cordoned off by rebar. A more careful examination of the ground reveals green, glass-like beads formed during the explosion from melting desert sand. The so-called Trinitite is protected by federal law and should not be removed from the site.