The granite makes a half-cylinder around us, bolts knocked into the rock like some kind of sadistic climbing gym. People get used to these depths, the disconnection. The tunnel curves ahead of us, a skew that will route nuclear or whatever material and send it out through the south entrance. The blast doors that lead to the complex's buildings branch off from the tunnel at around 90 degrees, so any material will glance off rather than slam into them.
We pass through one open ton doorit'll get closed in the event of a potential or impending threat to the areaand enter a rock-walled room with a second such door at its far end. A slight breeze blows by. Back when humans were cold warring, one of these doors stayed closed.
When both get shut, their uber-deadbolts and substantial concreteness keep everything out. They have to know the humans can do their jobsbest of times, worst of times, regardless of how sad or scared they are. And the electronics that let them do those jobs have to continue functioning, even as they're cut off from an outside that, in a real emergency, might not have working electronics.
Mullins points inside the second door. Locked in, people share bunked cots. They eat MREsmeals ready to eat, whose calorie-dense contents are almost as indestructible as the complex itself. They breathe filtered air that comes in through blast valves. Their lives run on six generators, an internal Mullins leads us through that second blast door, where an awning like those fronting old apartments juts from the first of 15 buildings.
And no one can come in. Inside, we cross little walkways that can move independently of the buildings. These structures don't sit together in some giant cavern: They're encased in a series of tunnels. By , the first cages were installed in their present sites. The Broadmoor Hotel and the Zoo have since grown immensely and remain tourist attractions in the Colorado Springs area.
Built during the Cold War, the large bunker is designed to withstand a thirty-megaton nuclear explosion. Fort Carson, a large army base, currently sits at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain. From its early history as a hunting ground for Native Americans, Cheyenne Mountain has been used for various purposes, from gold mining to tourist attractions and military installations.
William R. Julia A. You are here Home. Cheyenne Mountain. Cheyenne Mountain, a geographical landmark southwest of Colorado Springs.
Learn more about giraffes at the zoo. The base will take over air defense for the nation in case the primary base closes due to illness. Nothing Like a Good Fortress. The steel doors that protect the underground facility. The thousand pound steel springs. Craig F. Walker Getty Images.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. A view out, and toward the light, of the main tunnel that heads into Cheyenne Mountain.
Daniel Terdiman June 27, a. Tunnel into the fortress A thousand feet up a restricted-access road from Colorado Springs, Colo. A very thick door Cheyenne Mountain's main entry--already deep inside the mountain--has two blast doors like this.
Cheyenne Mountain and the tunnel A wide view of Cheyenne Mountain and the famous tunnel that leads to the military installation, which is secured under 2, feet of granite. Three stories high There are actually several buildings inside Cheyenne Mountain, each fully three stories high. Security window Anyone entering the Cheyenne Mountain complex must go through this security checkpoint. Fork in the road Upon entry into the Cheyenne Mountain complex, visitors and employees are faced with a choice: Which adit, or underground entrance, do they take?
Escape hatch In the highly unlikely case of a complete emergency in which none of the other exits are available, those inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex can leave via this tiny trap door, which offers a crawlspace out of the facility. Giant springs One of the many Cheyenne Mountain features designed to protect the complex from a nuclear blast--or an earthquake--are these giant springs. Blast valve Blast valves like this one are installed at the Cheyenne Mountain complex to protect the air that those inside breathe.
Building separation Inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex, it's nearly impossible to tell when you're moving from one of the several buildings to another. Flexing connectors Like the giant springs found throughout the Cheyenne Mountain complex, there are many of these flexing connectors between various piping. Six generators While Cheyenne Mountain now has commercial Colorado Springs power as its primary source of electricity, it used to rely entirely on generators.
HVAC is the lifeblood This sign illustrates the sentiment that air conditioning is vital to the operations inside Cheyenne Mountain. Diesel fuel reservoir Deep inside the complex is a reservoir of diesel fuel that has a capacity of , gallons, though it is not filled all the way. Button up storage The process of shutting down access to Cheyenne Mountain in the case of an attack or a drill is called "button up.
Industrial reservoir If Cheyenne Mountain is in "button up," the complex needs a giant heat sink to maintain a cool interior temperature. The duck To many people, this "duck" on the surface of the reservoir is the most famous element inside Cheyenne Mountain. Toward the south portal The main Cheyenne Mountain entrance is in the center of the facility.
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