The Pyramid of North Dakota
The remnants of an early American attempt at missile defense
Category Incredible Ruins
The Safeguard Program was developed in the 1960s to shoot down incoming Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles. Built at a cost of 6 billion dollars in Nekoma, North Dakota, the site was a massive complex of missile silos, a giant pyramid-shaped radar system, and dozens of launching silos for surface-to-air missiles tipped with thermonuclear warheads.
However, due to its expense, and concern over both its effectiveness and the danger of detonating defensive nuclear warheads over friendly territory, the program was shut down. Today it is a military-industrial shell in the middle of nowhere, or in the words of one writer, "a monument to man's fear and ignorance."
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- Address Nekoma, North Dakota, 58249, United States
- Cost $0
The closest town is Langdon North Dakota which sits 7 miles to the north of Nekoma and 20 miles west of the PAR radar at Concrete, ND. Langdon sits at the intersection of State Highways #1 & #5 which is approximately 15 miles south of Canada and 40 miles west of Minnesota. See below for Google Earth and lat/long coordinates. Don't miss the Sprint Missle still standing in the middle of the Langdon Park!
Comments
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Sadly, the military decided to flood the facility before leaving (this was unkown to the natives until much later). There are some photos of some "rural spelunkers" who managed to get inside. Although the PAR radar site still keeps an eye on our neighbors to the north, it doesn't really do much beyond being an early warning system for Norad. I should also point out that the reason that Nekoma closed was largely because the contractors knew the system wouldn't work.
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Anonymous
July 10, 2009
The US Government still owns the ABM Site at Nekoma, ND. There is the possibility of the US Gov't to place the installation in "surplus" status. Cavalier County is looking at possibly taking ownership of this facility to use it for economic development purposes. One use that surfaced recently was to use the installation for Unmanned Aviation Vehicles (UAV's) testing. The Grand Forks Air Force Base is possibility obtaining a mission for UAV's and the Nekoma Site would be used testing the UAV's, because of its remote location and more open air space. Over 100 wind generators were erected (by Florida Power and Light) north of the Nekoma Site now, so the UAV air space may have become more restricted. A private contractor has a contract to maintain the site, such as mowing. Therefore, the installation is considered to be in "caretaker status". -
Anonymous
July 10, 2009
I, too am a resident of Concrete, North Dakota. The PAR is still in operation and operated by the US Air Force. One of the current missions for this radar is to assist NASA in tracking space junk. About 30 military personnel are stationed at this installation and about 120 civilians are also employed here. -
I've posted a response to this entry on my personal blog at http://ryantrauman.com/traumanblog/2009/06/24/sacred-north-dakota-pyramids/ Please feel free to respond either here or on my blog itself. Thanks.
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Anonymous
June 30, 2009
theres always some secret horsehit going on in those military bases_hold on to your secrets cause when things come to light it wont be pretty, or will it? -
Anonymous
June 30, 2009
my brain hurts... -
Anonymous
June 29, 2009
Just like they closed down Camp Hero at mountak. -
Anonymous
June 29, 2009
Sure they closed it down!!!! yeah right. -
Anonymous
June 24, 2009
To Anon (resident of Concrete) - Actually, the entire system was flawed and so was used as a bargaining chip in the Salt I negotiations. GE pulled out of the project (after several years of large investments) because it was becoming obvious that the system would not perform as designed. The truth is out there! -
Anonymous
June 24, 2009
Yes moronic American Military thought they could shoot down nukes over us Canadians!!!!!!! Right, who cares about the Canadians eh!!! Now they want to lay claim to the Canadian Arctic and steal all of our fresh water. -
Anonymous
June 24, 2009
As a resident of Concrete, ND, I see these buildings along with many other missile silos quite often. The PAR site (the winter picture) is much bigger than Nekoma and still very much active (it tracks the ISS and whatnot). With connections and special arrangements, one can get a tour of the PAR building. Inside of these structures is something straight out of a movie. They have a command center room with giant computers and screens, 3 story rooms of wires and electonics, fallout shelters, and sleeping quarters. Quite impressive actually. Apparently, Nekoma was only used for 1 hour of actual opperation. By the time they finished building it, it was no longer needed and was shut down. -
Anonymous
June 24, 2009
My dad was stationed there in 1973-1975 when I was just a boy. Here's a link to more information: http://srmsc.org/msr2000.html -
Anonymous
June 23, 2009
pictures are too small. can't see detail :( -
Anonymous
June 23, 2009
wtf did billion dollars come from? please cite source? -
The google map appears to be fairly off target. The coords are 48.589419,-98.356739 : http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.589419,-98.356739&spn=0.01,0.01&t=h&q=48.589419,-98.356739
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Anonymous
June 23, 2009
This pyramid is hardly giant. Based on that photo with people in the foreground, it looks 7 stories, tops. The small pyramids in Egypt are massive in comparison and the biggest only owns the adjective "Great". Giant Radar Station, maybe.


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