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EDUCATE
Colorado's nuclear history is part of our health history.
For nearly four decades, Rocky Flats manufactured components for America's nuclear weapons arsenal just northwest of Denver.
Its history includes secrecy, fires and releases, environmental contamination, public protest, an FBI raid, shutdown and cleanup—and questions that continue today.
Rocky Flats 101
During the Cold War, the United States produced more than 70,000 nuclear warheads, requiring a vast network of laboratories, factories and production facilities across the country. Rocky Flats was a highly specialized part of that nuclear weapons complex. Understanding its role means understanding not only what the plant produced, but how the operation worked, where that work took place, and the systems built around it.
The Historic American Engineering Record created an extraordinary series of drawings documenting Rocky Flats and its mission. Together, they move from the larger nuclear weapons complex into the plant itself—showing its role in weapons production, the work performed in different facilities, the processes and materials involved, and the systems created to support production, manage waste and protect workers.
Presented here in their original sequence, these drawings provide something rare: a visual introduction to Rocky Flats through the historical record itself.
Click an image to enlarge it, then scroll through Rocky Flats 101.
TIMELINE
The Rocky Flats Story
From the selection of the Rocky Flats site in 1951 to the questions that remain today, these moments help tell the story of Rocky Flats and its lasting impact on the surrounding community.
This timeline was developed using historical photographs, government records, studies, news reports and other documented sources. Some imagery has been digitally restored, enhanced or reconstructed with the assistance of AI to help bring the history to life.
Click an image to enlarge it, then scroll through the Rocky Flats story.
EXPLORE ROCKY FLATS
Go deeper into the history, contamination, cleanup, and present-day questions that continue to shape the Rocky Flats story.
Step inside the plant and see how Rocky Flats was built, how it worked and the people who ran a top-secret mission during the Cold War.
Learn what was released, how contamination moved through air, water and soil, where it was found, and what the historical record tells us about surrounding communities.
Understand what happened after production ended—what was removed, what remained, how cleanup decisions were made, and how the former industrial site is monitored today.
