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Atmospheric Testing: Prior to the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty,
a total of one hundred atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted
at the Nevada Test Site. The tests were detonated at ground level,
from towers, balloons, and by airdrops. According to U.S. Department
of Energy's (DOE), the greatest disturbance typically occurred when
an air- dropped weapon penetrated the ground surface to a shallow
depth before detonation. Such a test -- with an estimated yield
of 100 kilotons and up -- would result in a crater about 120 feet
deep and 720 feet in diameter.
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