Imagine you’re eating breakfast when the ground beneath you begins to rumble. Dust rises from a nearby mesa, the shaking builds to a wobbly crescendo until…it’s over. Just like that. Was it all worth it?
This was the burning question for folks near Rulison, Colorado, on September 10, 1969, when a nuclear bomb—more than twice as powerful as the weapon dropped on Hiroshima—detonated 8,000 feet beneath their homes. The risky experiment named Project Rulison was part of the US Plowshare Program, an effort aimed at revolutionizing natural gas extraction using underground nuclear detonations.
Locals were still concerned after the rumbles subsided. Rumors of radioactive leaks and tainted water spread among residents, but the experiment continued despite protests. Although the detonation did release far more natural gas than conventional methods, the resulting fuel was unusable—contaminated by the very radiation that unearthed it. Luckily the land wasn’t poisoned, even though the gas was. But Rulison’s failure didn’t stop Plowshare. In 1973, the next experiment was greenlit in Rio Blanco County with three bigger bombs.
After Rio Blanco, the public outcry could not be ignored. In 1974, Coloradans passed a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval before any nuclear device can be detonated in the state. Project Rulison and Rio Blanco are important reminders of the risks often taken in pursuit of profitability. And that Colorado’s outdoor-friendly reputation wasn’t given freely—it was earned through community organization and direct legislative action.
—History Colorado/Lucy Snow, Digital Marketing Specialist
