Los Lunas Range, New Mexico

Los Lunas was the first post-war target range used to study the ballistics, fuzing, and firing for atomic bombs (without the nuclear components installed). It was an existing WWII bombing range on 1,320 acres 20 miles south of Kirtland Air Base, in Albuquerque, which also was the location of Sandia Base, the production site for the bombs. Sandia leased more land and set up some circular targets and camera stations. The first bomb drop occurred in December, 1945. The high elevation of the region, 5,000 feet above seal-level, made it unsuitable, and Sandia moved on to the Salton Sea Test base by 1947. The Air Force continued to use Los Lunas until 1957, and it was closed in 1961, though some circular targets remain visible today.