Granite Springs Valley

Granite Springs Valley is east of Winnemucca Lake.

External Resources

• GNIS
• Helen S. Carlson, "Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary," p. 126. Granite Spring Valley extends from Copper Valley to Adobe Flat and is bounded by the east by the Trinity Range and on the west by the Sahwave Mountains.
• J.R. Harrill, "Water Resources Appraisal of the Granite Springs Valley Area, Pershing, Churchill, and Lyon Counties, Nevada," 1970.

Giant Circles

The Ragged Top Mountain SW 1:24k topo showing two of the semicircles

Topo maps of Granite Springs Valley show large semicircles that are centered around a ruin. 9 semicircles have been identified, the largest has a radius of 15 miles.

It is not clear why the circles exist. One theory is that as part of Operation Plowshare, there was to be a nuclear test at this location in southern Pershing County. One theory is that the circles would be part of the arc array where 4 foot square sheets where covered with petrolatum so that fallout could be measured.

However, there are no references for this. Project Gondola and Project Phaeton both mention the Black Rock Desert, but neither project had field work other than visits. Project Gondola was to be at the Black Rock Desert near the Humboldt-Pershing county line. The center of the circles is at the Churchill-Pershing county line, which is on the opposite edge of Pershing County. Project Gondola was to be about cratering in deep clay, which does exists at the center of the circles.

Giant Circle References

• Giant concentric circles Granite Springs Valley, NV (smugmug) Google Maps 40° 00’ 46.7” N 119° 00’ 05.4” W
  • 2002 Photos Scroll down to "Granite Springs Valley - Ruins"
  • The Blue Wing Spring and Ragged Top SW maps indicate that this is in T25 R26 S 24, S25 & T25 R27 S19, S30. The Pershing County Assessor shows that this is a checkerboard of BLM and former Santa Fe land, now owned by a holding company
  • 003-281-34 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT T25 R26 SEC 24
  • 003-281-54 KUMIVA GROUP LLC T25 R26 SEC 25
  • 003-271-47 KUMIVA GROUP LLC T25 R27 SEC 19
  • 003-271-48 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT T25 R27 SEC 30
• The State of Nevada Well Log Database Query Tool has no mention of wells drilled in those sections.
• Mystery Giant concentric circles Granite Springs Valley, NV (Pace Aero Press)
  • Matt Hensarling posted that this was the Copper Valley Nuclear Test that was cancelled because of fears of creating "fault slippage" that would result in earthquakes.
  • Craig posted that it was something to do with Project Gondola, which was part of Operation Plowshare. Project Gondola was cancelled after there were problems with Project Faultless.
  • Xelex posted "The Granite Springs Valley circles appear to be an arc array to collect particulate samples using 4-foot-square, petrolatum-coated aluminum sheets distributed in a pattern downwind of a detonation point. Similar features can be found at Tonopah Test Range, site of Project Roller Coaster that included four plutonium dispersal tests (Double Tracks, and Clean Slate I, II, and III). There is another arc array southeast of Leuhman Ridge at the Edwards AFB rocket engine test site."
    • R.K. Fuller, "Operation Roller Coaster- Project Officers Report, Special Particulate Characteristics," p19 has an arc radius schedule (ft). The letter and number are from Fuller. The mi is from smugmug. There is not a match.
      • A 1250 0.15mi = 792 ft
      • B 2500 0.29mi = 1531 ft
      • C 3750 0.56mi = 2956 ft
      • D 5000 0.95mi = 5016 ft
      • E 6250
      • F 7500
      • G 8750
      • H 10000
      • I 11500
      • J 13000
      • K 15000
      • L 17500
      • M 20000
      • N 25000
      • O 28500
      • P 35000
      • Q 41250
      • R 48000

• • Xelex continues: "Arc arrays are typically used for collecting fallout samples from surface (or shallow subsurface) bursts. If the Plowshare shot Gondola was to be an excavation test, it would make sense to collect fallout data."

Project Gondola

• Not to be confused with Pre-Gondola
• Scott Kaufman, "Project Plowshare: The Peaceful Use of Nuclear Explosives in Cold War America," p. 225. Not available in Google Books, but Amazon has the text. The conclusion mentions Project Gondola and states that it got its name from a form of transportation.
• Scott Kaufman, "Proving Grounds: Project Plowshare and the Unrealized Dream of Nuclear Earth Moving," (2005) p. 188. Discussion about July 1968 fourth annual report of the Canal Commission: "Project Gondola, a cratering experiment to be conducted in wet clay (at a site as yet to be undetermined), would be particularly germane to the soil conditions in Panama's Chucunaque valley, where field studies has left Army Corps engineers increasingly concerned about the problem of slope stability".
• Colleen M. Beck, Susan R. Edwards, and Maureen L. King, "The Off-Site Plowshare and Vela Uniform Programs: Assessing Potential Environmental Liabilities through an Examination of Proposed Nuclear Projects,High Explosive Experiments, and High Explosive Construction Activities Volume 3 of 3,"
  • p A-59 In 1969, a nuclear cratering experiment in wet clay shale was in the planning stages. One of the four sites under consideration was the Black Rock Desert. "In February, 1969, just as the preliminary drilling program was getting under way at the four sites, the project was put on hold due to funding constraints with the expectation that it would resume in FY 1970 with field data available by late August 1969. However, the project did not resume and a February 20, 1970 memo to the project participants terminated the associated committees and indefinitely deferred the project, effectively ending the Gondola Project. "The proposed Nevada site was in the Black Rock Desert, west of Winnemucca on the Humboldt-Pershing County lines." . "No field work was conducted". A press release from the Office of Public Affairs, US AEC, Nevada Operations office dated January 30, 1969 stated that exploratory drilling "was to begin within a few days". Drilling permits were obtained, but the field work was cancelled.
• Billings Gazette, "Nuclear 'Bulldozer' May Get Try," 1969-01-30, p. 35. "and another on the Humboldt-Pershing County line in Nevada"
• Reasons why this location is not Gondola.
  • The location in question is on the Pershing-Churchill county line, not the Humboldt-Pershing county line.
  • However, in Harrill (see above), Well T24N R26 12b (39.9405020, -119.0579708)is located 3.4 miles south of the center point of the circles, p. 9 "The deepest well in the area is at the southern end of Granite Springs Valley (24/26-12b)" p. 32 has the well log for 24/26-12b "Telephone well" and shows clay all the way down to 600'
    • Telephone Well GNIS (39.9687972 -119.0184976)
    • Telephone Well State of Nevada Well Log, drilled in 1942.

Project Phaeton

• Colleen M. Beck, Susan R. Edwards, and Maureen L. King, "The Off-Site Plowshare and Vela Uniform Programs: Assessing Potential Environmental Liabilities through an Examination of Proposed Nuclear Projects,High Explosive Experiments, and High Explosive Construction Activities Volume 3 of 3,"
  • p A-95 discusses Project Phaeton. "Phaeton was one of the projects to be conducted in hard rock" Possible locations included the Central Nevada Test Area, Monitor Vally and the Black Rock Desert. There was no indication of field activities and no field work with the possible exception of a few proposed location visits.