Mapimí Silent Zone, Natural park in Mapimí Desert, Mexico.

The Mapimí Silent Zone is a natural park in Tlahualilo, Mexico, where three states meet. The landscape shows dunes, rock outcrops, and dry riverbeds across flat desert terrain with low vegetation and sandy ground.

In July 1970 an Athena RTV test rocket launched from Green River, Utah, toward White Sands Missile Range lost control and fell in the Mapimí Desert carrying two small containers of radioactive cobalt 57. The US Air Force recovery effort removed hundreds of tons of soil from the impact site. The operation gave rise to legends of magnetic anomalies blocking radio transmission, which locals later used to promote tourism.

Local residents share stories about unexplained phenomena, including radio interference and electronic equipment malfunctions in the area.

Visitors should come prepared for desert conditions and carry extra water. Mobile phone coverage is weak, so a map or GPS device helps with navigation.

The desert was once a seabed of the Tethys Ocean, leaving marine fossils and large salt deposits that are mined today. The area overlaps the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve, established in 1974 with participation from institutions such as the Institute of Ecology, UNAM and the Paris Natural History Museum.