# Bomb Craters in Alberta (Astronaut Training) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 29, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391 "2009-06-29T20:31:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bad\_Astronaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bad\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/1 "2009-06-29T20:31:22Z")
[Column in question](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2876/did-astronauts-train-in-ecological-wastelands-on-earth-to-get-used-to-the-barren-moon) > [@](#): > > The trainees even visited craters formed by shallow underground nuclear tests in Nevada and by conventional explosives in Alberta, since bomb craters form the same way meteorite craters do. I live in Alberta and am curious as to the location of these craters - anyone know the story behind this? Are they still there? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/2 "2009-06-30T05:56:04Z")
[This large PDF file](http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=AD518506&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf) talks about a 500-ton TNT explosion detonated July 1970 at the Defence Research Establishment Suffield, Alberta. Around page 140 there’s a discussion of the astronauts’ involvement. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Astronaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bad\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/3 "2009-06-30T17:27:28Z")
Interesting, thanks. It would be an easy day trip for me to get there, but I don’t think they would let me onto the military base to see it! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/4 "2009-07-01T22:16:32Z")
The column mentions Craters of the Moon National Monument, which we just toured in the past couple of days. It’s in a more remote area of Idaho and is not too frequently visited, but is stunning in its scope. There are hundreds of square miles of blasted surface caused by the same traveling “hotspot” that is presently the subject of much speculation as it lies underneath Yellowstone National Park. If it causes anywhere near the devastation that was wreaked upon Idaho, it will be a hell on Earth. For a geologist, it’s a wet dream; for a catastrophist, it’s a nightmare scene. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/5 "2009-07-01T22:21:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s in a more remote area of Idaho and is not too frequently visited, but is stunning in its scope. Where in Idaho is not remote? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bomb-craters-in-alberta-astronaut-training/501391/6 "2009-07-01T22:56:49Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Where in Idaho is not remote? True enough. The other day I thought I was in hell, but it was just Boise.