Editing Tonopah Test Range (section)

==Description==
The Tonopah Test Range<ref>[http://ttr.sandia.gov ttr.sandia.gov]</ref> is owned by the [[United States Department of Energy]] and is managed by [[Sandia National Laboratories]], a division of [[Honeywell International]], which operates the Tonopah Test Range under an Air Force permit with the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]].<ref name="sandia2003">[http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2004/042812.pdf Annual Site Environmental Report: Tonopah Test Range, Nevada and Kauai Test Facility, Hawaii, 2003], Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 105 pp.</ref>  The range is part of the [[Great Basin Desert]] and lies mostly within the Cactus Flat valley, consisting of [[horst and graben]] geology.<ref name="sandia2003" />  It is flanked by the [[Cactus Peak]] hills to the west and the [[Kawich Peak]] to the east, which is home of [[Silverbow]], one of the largest mining [[ghost town]]s in Nevada.  The vegetation consists mostly of [[black sagebrush]] and [[creosote bush]].  It holds a sizable [[wild horse]] and [[burro]] population, closely monitored by the [[Bureau of Land Management]].  Common denizens of the TTR include the [[gray fox]], [[pronghorn]], [[coyote]], and [[mule deer]], along with the native birds [[sage thrasher]], [[sage grouse]], and [[sage sparrow]].<ref name="sandia2003" />

===Airfields===
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{{Main|Tonopah Test Range Airport}}
One of the primary facilities on the TTR is a large airfield ([[Area 10 (NTS)|Area 10]]), consisting of a {{convert|12000|ft|m|adj=on}} runway and numerous hangars.  About five minor abandoned airfields exist throughout the TTR<ref>[https://www.airfieldsfreeman.com/NV/Airfields_NV_C.htm Abandoned & Little Known Airfields: Central Nevada], Paul Freeman, accessed 18 August 2010.</ref>  which were primarily used during World War II by units based at [[Tonopah Army Air Field]] (now serving as Tonopah's municipal airport).  Only '''Mellan Airstrip''', {{convert|11|mi}} southeast of Tonopah Test Range Airport, survived past the 1960s, upgraded to a {{convert|5000|ft|adj=on}} concrete runway.  A US Air Force assessment published in 2000 indicated it was a minimally adequate airfield which was used to support tactical C-130 and C-17 training.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021125145400/http://www.nellis.af.mil/pa/Cedarpass.htm Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cedar Pass Airfield], 99 CES/CEVN, Nellis AFB, April 2000, accessed 18 August 2010.</ref>

===Mancamp===
About six miles (10&nbsp;km) north of the airfield is a large housing area called Mancamp.  It contains about 50 twin-level dormitories.  A recreation center, houses, a bar, a library, game room, weight room, Olympic size indoor pool, racquetball courts, a two-lane bowling alley, a barbecue pad, and an ATM.  There is also an athletic track, tennis courts, and softball fields.  Just outside Mancamp a small civilian compound existed, but was mostly dismantled by 2000.  Google Earth imagery indicated that Mancamp's streets were renovated sometime between 2003 and 2007.

===Sandia National Laboratories===
Operations by Sandia are controlled at the TTR Operations Control Center ([[Area 3 (NTS)|Area 3]]), just southeast of the main airfield, which houses the range safety officer, test director, and key engineers.<ref name="sandia2003" />  Activities are monitored with video, high-speed cameras, and radar tracking devices.  Though nuclear weapons have never been detonated on the TTR, the 1963 test Project Rollercoaster involved the destruction of four weapons, which caused some plutonium to be dispersed into the soil north of Antelope Lake.<ref name="sandia2003" />