Grasshopper Junction is a rural area in Mohave County

Mohave County, Arizona

Mohave County is located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 200,186, an increase of 45,154 people since the 2000 census count of 155,032. The county seat is Kingman...

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Lying four miles (6 km) west of the town of Chloride

Chloride, Arizona

Chloride is a onetime silver mining camp in Mohave County, Arizona, and is considered the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in the state. Chloride has a ZIP Code of 86431; in 2000, the population of the 86431 ZCTA was 352.- History :...

, Grasshopper Junction provides access to a lone surviving mining camp along County Road 125. The area features the Grasshopper Junction restaurant as a roadside attraction.

History

In January 1951, the United States government established the Nevada Test Site

Nevada Test Site

The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...

, a nuclear weapons testing reservation located in Nye County, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, about 180 miles (290 km) northwest Grasshopper Junction. During the 1950s, the mushroom cloud

Mushroom cloud

A mushroom cloud is a distinctive pyrocumulus mushroom-shaped cloud of condensed water vapor or debris resulting from a very large explosion. They are most commonly associated with nuclear explosions, but any sufficiently large blast will produce the same sort of effect. They can be caused by...

 from these tests could be seen for almost 100 miles (160.9 km) in either direction, including in the city of Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 where the tests became tourist attractions. Between May 28 and October 7, 1957, the Nevada Test Site ran a series of nuclear tests

Nuclear testing

Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...

 called Operation Plumbbob

Operation Plumbbob

Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Hardtack I...

. In 1958, the site carried out low-yield atmospheric and underground tests identified as Operation Hardtack II

Operation Hardtack II

Operation Hardtack II was a series of 37 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Nevada Test Site.With test moratoriums on the horizon, American weapons labs rushed out many new designs. After the conclusion of Hardtack II, the United States announced a unilateral testing...

. As a result of Operation Plumbbob and Operation Hardtack, Grasshopper Junction became part of the June 22–26, 1959 hearings

Congressional hearing

Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of legislative policymaking. Whether confirmation hearings — a procedure unique to the Senate — legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all...

 before the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. At the time, the population of Grasshopper Junction was two, and the first session of the 86th United States Congress

86th United States Congress

The Eighty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1959 to January 3, 1961, during the last two years...

 determined that the estimated radiation dose received by the Grasshopper Junction population was 0.03 roentgen (8 microcoulombs per kilogram) before Operation Plumbbob (Pre-Plumbbob) and 0.03 roentgen (8 µC/kg) after Operation Hardtack II (Cumulative).

In December 1975, a marker was erected across from Grasshopper Junction to honor the bicentennial of Chloride.

From 1988 to 1991, Grasshopper Junction had a population of six, which included Dean Morrison and Jackie Appelhans as co-owners of a store and restaurant and their four children. Although their children had moved away by 1991, they were included in the population count. In May 1991, both Morrison (age 65) and Appelhans (age 60) were found murdered in their home. Brothers Robert and Roger Murray were each convicted on June 12, 1992 of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery, and were sentenced to death. In October 1995, the sentencing was affirmed by the Arizona Supreme Court

Arizona Supreme Court

The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for...

. In May 2008, Roger Murray's petition for writ of habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

 was denied.

In July 2005, the 10600 acres (42.9 km²) Twin Mills wildfire was ignited by lightning and burned Grasshopper Junction, which received air drops of flame retardant. In a 2006 United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

 survey of the depth to water and water-level altitude in Arizona, the younger alluvium

Alluvium

Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...

 surficial deposits atop Grasshopper Junction were viewed as ranging from unconsolidated to strongly consolidated alluvial deposits. Residing in the Detrital basin, the ground water in Grasshopper Junction is contained in a basin-fill aquifer and other water-bearing sediments at a depth of approximately 11 feet (3.4 m) below the land surface. Additionally, the underground water level resides approximately at an altitude

Altitude

Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...

 of 3700 feet (1130 m) above mean sea level and is moving directly South.