Famous Weapon Testing Sites Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Mexico

White Sands was a bombing and missile range in New Mexico, and was the location of "Trinity", the first detonation of a nuclear device. It is also the place you might find "trinitite", the glassy residue left on the ground. It was also used for testing Permanent High Explosives.

Answer: Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is in the Marshall Islands, and was the site of the first Nuclear tests after WWII, carried out by the United States. The use of this island ended when the Partial Nuclear Test Band Treaty was enacted. Over twenty nuclear devices were detonated here.

Answer: Christmas Island

The United Kingdom and America both used Kiritimati for nuclear testing in the fifties and sixties. This Polynesian island, also known as Christmas Island, is the location of the first British H-bomb detonation. Surprisingly, the native people were not evacuated from the island before the bombs were dropped.

Answer: Pokhran

Pokhran is the location for India's nuclear testing. They tested a single bomb, underground, but then ceased further nuclear tests. The other three answers are ancient cities in Iran.

Answer: False

Nagasaki was the second city to be the victim of an atomic attack, after Hiroshima. This photo was taken by Charles Levy from one of the B-29 Superfortresses used in the attack. Over 35,000 were killed in this bombing, which finally persuaded Japan to surrender and thus end the Second World War.

Answer: Independence Island

Malden Island, also known as Independence Island, was the site of the UK's Operation Grapple series of Nuclear tests in 1956. The island had been uninhabited since the 1930s. Today it is a bird and wildlife sanctuary.

Answer: Algeria

There were at least fourteen of these tests, most of which were underground. In the second test, accidental radioactivity was released and caused exposure to army regulars and VIPs.

Answer: China

Lop Nur is the test base for all of China's nuclear testing. The Chinese dropped their first nuclear bomb here in 1964, and the last (up to 2018) in 1996. This site is the home to wild Bactrian camels, which continued to breed naturally throughout all the testing.

Answer: South Africa

This airstrip was home to the South African Defense Force's nuclear testing ground. It was chosen because of its relatively low population density, remoteness, and lack of underground rivers. Most of the testing that went on here was underground.

Answer: False

This is the test area for North Korea. We know that tunnel underground tests have taken place in this area. It has three underground tunnel entrances but not much else is known.