Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory is a research facility in northern New Mexico that stretches across a large area with laboratory buildings, computing centers, and testing sites. The campus sits on a high mesa overlooking deep canyons and hosts facilities for physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science.

The site was established during World War II on a remote mesa to work on atomic weapons in secrecy. After the war ended, the location evolved into a civilian research center with focus on energy, materials science, and biological security.

The name comes from Spanish Los Álamos, referring to the cottonwood trees growing in the surrounding canyons. Visitors today see a sprawling campus of research buildings and controlled access zones that reflect the ongoing link between military secrecy and modern scientific work.

The laboratory offers public tours at certain times of the year, advance registration is required and security checks are mandatory. The nearby Bradbury Science Museum in the town of Los Alamos is open daily and offers insights into the research without requiring access to the main grounds.

The archives still preserve much of the handwritten notes from the early years of atomic research. Some of the original wooden buildings from the wartime period have been kept and now serve as reminders of the site's beginnings.

Location: Los Alamos County

Inception: 1943

Official opening: 1943

Industry: formal science, national security

Operator: U.S. Department of Energy

Website: https://lanl.gov

GPS coordinates: 35.87556,-106.32417

Latest update: December 14, 2025 22:17