Clip Shows Soviet Nuke Being Used To Create New Reservoir

Amazing footage shows the moment Russia used a nuclear bomb to create a reservoir... but ended up with a radioactive water supply known as the Atomic Lake....
This is the amazing moment Russia used a nuclear bomb to create a reservoir - only to end up with a radioactive water supply known as the Atomic Lake.

Footage shows a huge mushroom cloud forming after the underground Soviet nuke was detonated at Chagan, on the edge of the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan.

The clip, from January 1965, shows how the 140 kiloton blast created a massive 328ft deep crater before a channel was cut through to allow a nearby river to fill the reservoir.

Lake Chagan still exists today but is still radioactive and has been dubbed the 'Atomic Lake'.
The detonation had been designed to test the suitability of nuclear explosions for creating reservoirs.

It was carried out under the banner of 'Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy' which aimed to find peaceful uses for nuclear devices.

Lake Chagan was the first test but the Soviet Union continued this policy until 1989 by which stage at least 156 nuclear tests were conducted.

It was also the largest detonation carried out.

A 140 kiloton device was placed in a 584ft-deep hole in the dry bed of the Chagan River so that the crater lip would dam up the river during periods of high flow.

The blast created a crater 1312ft wide and 328ft deep with a lip height of 65 to 125ft.

The Soviets were proud of Lake Chagan at the time of its creation and the Minister of the Medium Machine Building Ministry can even be seen taking a dip in the lake near the end of the footage. Water was also used to feed cattle in the area.