Editing Nevada Test Site (section)

===1951–1992===
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[[File:NTS - Warning handbill.jpg|thumb|upright|This handbill was distributed 16 days before the first nuclear device was detonated at the site.]]
The site was the primary testing location of American nuclear devices from 1951 to 1992; 928 announced nuclear tests occurred there. Of those, 828 were underground<ref name="DOE/NV-209">U.S. Department of Energy / Nevada Operations Office, ''United States Nuclear Tests – July 1945 through September 1992'', December 2000, [http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf DOE/NV-209 Rev 15] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061012160826/http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf |date=October 12, 2006 }}</ref> (62 of the underground tests included multiple, simultaneous nuclear detonations, adding 93 detonations and bringing the total number of NTS nuclear detonations to 1,021, of which 921 were underground).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.osti.gov/opennet/document/press/pc25tab1.html |title=One multiple test took place in Colorado; the other 62 were at NTS |access-date=January 29, 2008 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091546/http://www.osti.gov/opennet/document/press/pc25tab1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The site contains many [[subsidence crater]]s from the testing.

The site was the United States' primary location for tests smaller than {{convert|1|MtonTNT|abbr=on|adj=on}}. One hundred twenty-six tests were conducted elsewhere, including most larger tests. Many of these occurred at the [[Pacific Proving Grounds]] in the [[Marshall Islands]].

[[File:Atomic test seen from Las Vegas.jpg|thumb|Mushroom cloud seen from [[downtown Las Vegas]].]]
During the 1950s, the [[mushroom cloud]]s from atmospheric tests could be seen for almost {{convert|100|mi|abbr=on}}. The city of Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects, and the distant mushroom clouds, which could be seen from the downtown hotels, [[Atomic tourism#Nuclear tests|became tourist attractions]]. The last atmospheric test detonation at the site was "[[Little Feller (nuclear tests)|Little Feller I]]" of [[Operation Sunbeam]], on July 17, 1962.

Although the United States did not ratify the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]], it honors the articles of the treaty, and underground testing of weapons ended as of September 23, 1992. Subcritical tests not involving a [[critical mass]] continued.

[[File:Sedan Plowshare Crater.jpg|thumb|[[Sedan crater]]]]
One notable test shot was the "[[Sedan (nuclear test)|Sedan]]" shot of [[Operation Storax]] on July 6, 1962, a {{convert|104|ktonTNT|adj=on}} shot for [[Operation Plowshare]], which sought to prove that nuclear weapons could be used for peaceful means in creating bays or canals. It [[Sedan Crater|created a crater]] 1,280 feet (390 m) wide and 320 feet (100 m) deep.