Tonopah Test Range, Military installation in Nevada, United States
The Tonopah Test Range sits in the Nevada desert, surrounded by open land and distant mountains, where the air feels dry and the skies stretch endlessly above a quiet, isolated landscape.
Built in 1957, this site served as a testing ground for weapons and aircraft during the Cold War, hosting secret experiments and stealth fighters that flew under the cover of night.
The range is tied to stories of military secrets and innovation, capturing the imagination of many who wonder about the experiments and aircraft tested in this remote corner of the American West.
Managed by the U.S. Air Force and Department of Energy, the site remains closed to the public and is used for testing advanced technology and monitoring environmental safety across the restricted area.
Wild horses roam freely near the runways and hangars, creating a strange contrast between nature and the high-security facilities where secret military research continues in silence and solitude.
Location: Nevada
Address: Nevada, USA
GPS coordinates: 37.78000,-116.77000
Latest update: December 3, 2025 13:40
This collection brings together underground military sites, strategic bunkers, and highly secured installations across the world. Many of these places were built during the Cold War, when nuclear threats pushed governments to create protected command centers deep under mountains or in remote areas. Some remain active today, serving national security purposes, while others have been decommissioned but preserve their massive concrete structures and tunnels. Though their existence is known from public sources, access remains strictly forbidden. The sites include the Raven Rock Mountain Complex in Pennsylvania, carved deep into the Appalachian Mountains with tunnels stretching for miles through solid rock, and the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station in Colorado, where rooms rest on massive springs inside the Rocky Mountains to absorb shocks from potential attacks. In Russia, the Skalisty submarine base serves nuclear submarines through underground piers carved directly into rock along the Barents Sea. RAF Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire spreads across a wide area marked by white geodesic domes that protect satellite antennas, while the Svalbard Global Seed Vault lies embedded in arctic permafrost, storing millions of plant seeds behind thick concrete walls. These places show how governments sought to protect command systems, military operations, and even biological reserves by building deep into mountains or along remote coastlines, creating installations that remain largely hidden from public view.
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