Mapimi silent zone
Encyclopedia
The Mapimí Silent Zone is the popular name for a desert patch near the Bolsón de Mapimí
in Mexico
overlapping the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve that is the subject of an urban myth that claims it is an area where radio signals cannot be received.
lost control and fell in the region. The rocket was carrying two small containers of cobalt 57
, a radioactive element. Immediately, a team of specialists arrived to find the fallen rocket. The aerial search lasted three weeks. Finally, when the rocket was found, a road was built to transport the wreckage, along with a small amount of contaminated top soil. As a result of the US Air Force recovery operations there, a number of myths and stories relating to the area arose, including "strange magnetic anomalies that prevent radio transmission", mutations of flora and fauna, and extraterrestrial visitations.
Bolsón de Mapimí
The Bolsón de Mapimí is an endorheic river basin located in the center-north of the Mexican Plateau.It is also known as the Comarca Lagunera, and is shared by the states of Durango, Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Zacatecas...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
overlapping the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve that is the subject of an urban myth that claims it is an area where radio signals cannot be received.
History
On July 11, 1970, an Athena missile launched from White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range
White Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
lost control and fell in the region. The rocket was carrying two small containers of cobalt 57
Isotopes of cobalt
Naturally occurring cobalt is composed of 1 stable isotope, 59Co. 28 radioisotopes have been characterized with the most stable being 60Co with a half-life of 5.2714 years, 57Co with a half-life of 271.79 days, 56Co with a half-life of 77.27 days, and 58Co with a half-life of 70.86 days...
, a radioactive element. Immediately, a team of specialists arrived to find the fallen rocket. The aerial search lasted three weeks. Finally, when the rocket was found, a road was built to transport the wreckage, along with a small amount of contaminated top soil. As a result of the US Air Force recovery operations there, a number of myths and stories relating to the area arose, including "strange magnetic anomalies that prevent radio transmission", mutations of flora and fauna, and extraterrestrial visitations.