The Zone of Silence has been the protagonist of the strangest stories that include everything from anomalies in the magnetic field to visits from extraterrestrials. Located in the heart of the desert between the Mexican states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua, this region has raised all kinds of assumptions.
A lagoon region turned into a desert
The mysterious place is located in the Bolsón de Mapimí, which is a basin that unites the three states of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua. Millions of years ago, when the Cenozoic Era reigned on Earth, the region used to be covered by the so-called Thetis Sea and this is the great reason why numerous fossils of marine animals have been found in what is now covered by desert sand. .
It is estimated that thirty million years ago, the Earth experienced a drastic change in its orogenic configuration, which caused the large continental masses that were covered by water to emerge from the depths. In that sense, many regions went from being large aquatic oases to completely arid areas. This is how the Chihuahua Desert was gradually carved by geological history until a million years ago it ended up acquiring its current morphology.
But this is not the only reason why the Zone of Silence is famous among lovers of mystical sites, other events have given it its enigmatic name.
When did the mystery of the Zone of Silence arise?
The whole mystery began in the early 1970s, when the Cold War loomed latent in the darkness. Both the Soviet Union and the United States had embarked on the creation of weapons in case the conflict between the two nations erupted into war.
One of the joint projects of the United States Air Force and Army was a series of experimental projectiles under the name Athena RTV. On the 122nd launch of the project, something went wrong and one of the Athena rockets ended up in the Chihuahua Desert.
The United States forces immediately organized a search to locate the device, which was also accompanied by two spheres of Colbalt-57, an element that is highly radioactive. The rocket allegedly could not be located through radio tracking and the search continued for several weeks until it was finally located.
The recovery of the remains of the rocket was accompanied by a security operation, so that not even the locals could observe the device. However, many witnesses say they saw how the Air Force also removed several tons of desert sand, which is believed to have been contaminated by radiation.
Alleged magnetic field anomalies
So much mystery aroused rumors in the region and some time after the event, a local resident in Ceballos said he had found an area in said region where the radio waves did not behave normally. Supposedly in certain areas it is impossible to communicate via radio because there is interference.
It was then that it emerged that the Zone of Silence acts as a kind of magnetic cone that causes ionization of the air and that, in turn, this interferes with radio signals, leaving all walkers in the region completely cut off.
The crash of the rocket, along with interference in radio frequencies, led to the discovery of prehistoric fossils of marine creatures. All these events covered the Zone of Silence with a certain enigmatic air and then numerous conspiracy theories emerged, such as a supposed extraterrestrial landing.
The truth is that today it is an extremely interesting area where animals that cannot be seen in any other region of the planet live, such as the Mapimí tortoise, the largest in North America. Regardless of whether the mystery of the radioactive rocket is true or whether the magnetic field fluctuates in the Zone of Silence, it is a natural region that must be preserved and that, despite the harsh conditions, enjoys great protection.