laststandonzombieisland

Back in the 1960s, the US dominated the polar regions. Experimental camps such as Camp TUTO and Camp Fistclench were built in remote areas.  One of the oddest stories was the top-secret Camp Century.

Camp Century (more infor here), was an underground city built just 800 miles south of the North Pole, 100 miles north of Thule AB in Greenland.

Four hundred tons of pipes, machinery, and components were then carefully transported over the ice in twenty-seven packages. Special care was taken not to damage the parts, since intensely cold metal can become dangerously brittle.  As a credit to superb packaging, a ceramic top to a lab cabinet was the only item damaged during transport.

The camp consisted of a total of 21 tunnels, the largest of which was referred to as ‘Main Street.’ It was over 335 meters long, 8 metres wide and 8.5 metres high. The tunnels or ‘trenches’ were covered with arched corrugated steel roofs and were lined with lights which were on 24/7. To combat snow deformation the tunnels were constantly trimmed as the ice shifted regularly. The site was staffed constantly with a year round average population of 200 soldiers and scientists. During this period the site produced some of the first ice cores using a combination of thermal and electromechanical drills to reach the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet in 1961. The true value of the ice cores gathered was not realised until many years later. However the true purpose of the site was soon to take over thanks to the initiative that started the Camp in the first place. Project Iceworm  — an idea to house nuclear missiles under the polar icecap.

Powered by a PM-2A nuclear reactor, Camp Century was the first of the US Army’s portable reactors to actually produce power. Except for downtime for routine maintenance and repairs, the reactor operated for thirty-three months.

By 1966 the camp was abandoned and in a follow-up visit in 1969, it was found wrecked by shifting polar ice.  Today its thought to be just so much steel girders and piping hidden under icefloes.

Or so they say…….