Mapimí Silent Zone

The Silent Zone La Zona del Silencio
Description
Also known as	Triad Vertex
Country	Mexico
Region	Mapimí Biosphere Reserve
Coordinates	Maps 26°41′29″N 103°44′44″W / 26.69139°N 103.74556°W / 26.69139; -103.74556Coordinates: Maps 26°41′29″N 103°44′44″W / 26.69139°N 103.74556°W / 26.69139; -103.74556
Terrain	Mountainous shrubbery
Owner	Municipality of Mapimí

The Mapimí Silent Zone (Spanish: La Zona del Silencio) 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.^{[1] [2]}

History

On July 11, 1970, an Athena missile launched from White Sands Missile Range 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. ^[1][2]

See also

• Radio silence
• Skip zone

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Eckles, Jim. "The Athena That Got Away". White Sands Missile Range. http://143.84.21.9/pao/FactSheets/AthenatoMexico.htm. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Kaus, Andrea. "The Zone Of Silence of northern Mexico - scientific marvel or just fiction?". MexConnect. http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1468-the-zone-of-silence-of-nothern-mexico-scientific-marvel-or-just-fiction. Retrieved 21 February 2011.