Site Selection

One of the very first tasks of General Leslie Groves and the Manhattan Project in early 1943 was to locate and acquire sites in the United States where uranium and plutonium could be produced, as well as a site where the atomic bomb actually would be constructed. Production of uranium and plutonium required vast amounts of power. Thus, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington, were chosen because of proximity to major rivers. Oak Ridge could draw on the power of the hydroelectric plants on the Tennessee River. Hanford could use the power from the Columbia River. The cold waters of the Columbia also could be used to cool the plutonium production reactors at Hanford. A third site, with much different requirements, was needed where the atomic bomb would be designed and built.

Road to Los Alamos

Los Alamos is Chosen

Selecting a site for an atomic bomb design laboratory was not constrained by the need for hydroelectric power. Rather, the design and development of an atomic bomb required enhanced security. Such a site needed to be safe from any chance of bombing by enemy aircraft and equally safe from curious citizens. General Leslie Groves ordered a search for such a site conducted throughout the western United States. Jemez Springs, New Mexico, met the basic requirements, but upon closer inspection in November 1942, Groves and Oppenheimer rejected the site because it was too confined by the high canyon walls and lacked a good road. Oppenheimer suggested another site, not far away, called Los Alamos. Groves approved. Because Los Alamos was the site of a school for boys, possession had to wait until the end of end of the academic term in February 1943. Los Alamos seemed ideal. It was isolated, access to and from the site could be controlled, and the surrounding canyons could be used for tests involving high explosives. The War Department acted quickly to acquire the Los Alamos Ranch School and a considerable amount of surrounding public and private land.