A former American military base, said to be used for ‘scientific research’ but was home to a secret nuclear project, remains 100 feet under Greenland’s icy surface
Approximately 100 feet below the surface of Greenland, is a secret American military base which used to be the home of a nuclear missile project.
In the 1960s, a secret American military base underneath Greenland was home to a nuclear missile project and Project Iceworm — a network of complex tunnels and railways tracks that could house and transport around 600 nuclear missiles.
Whilst it wasn’t exactly a secret that Camp Century was a nuclear power base, the full truth and extent of Project Iceworm was only known by a handful of people. The tunnels could allow the missiles to be shot over the north pole toward the Soviet Union. However, recently, more information about the base has been discovered.
According to The Independent, Camp Century was built in 1959 and was operational until 1967. The crew lived in extreme isolation, with the nearest people 127 miles away. The only to reach the base was via sled, and this would usually be in heavy snow, wind or freezing conditions.
Within four years of construction, the tunnels has compressed both vertically and horizontally, which meant they relied on extensive snow trimming to be maintained. The trenches were covered with a steel arch and the longer trench extended to 340 metres, with a height and width of both 7.9 metres.
In addition to research facilities, the base also had a clinic, theatre and library. The base also provided good protection from the elements, and even had modern bathrooms, dining and medical facilities.
Snow trimming and sewage disposal became big problems within the facility, consequently causing sleeping quarters to become smelly and unbearable. The facility was then abandoned in 1967.
Later in 1968, a US jet armed with nuclear bombs crashed and an investigation into American activity in Greenland was undertaken. The investigation found that the Danish prime minister had covertly approved Project Iceworm.
In total, the camp consisted of 21 tunnels, with a total length of three kilometres, and it was all powered by a nuclear reactor. The operation was abandoned after it was established that the ice sheet was not as stable as originally thought. Whilst the reactor was later removed, hazardous waste remains buried under the ice and has become an environmental concern.
In 2016, a group of scientists evaluated the environmental impact of the abandoned facility and estimated that due to changing weather patterns over the next few decades, meltwater could allow nuclear waste to be released, including 200,000 litres of diesel fuel and 24 million litres of untreated sewage.
Further study in 2021 demonstrated that meltwater never reached the base or even penetrated more than 1.1 metres, which meant that the debris would not move or contaminate the surrounding environment before 2100.
In 2024, NASA also flew across Greenland to explore the ability of its synthetic-aperture radar to survey features within the profile of the ice cap and it was able to find remnants of Camp Century.
In recent months, President Donald Trump expressed his interest in ‘buying’ Greenland, while refusing to rule out the possibility of military force. Officials from Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, have declared the county is not for sale.
Trump has claimed that America needs to own Greenland in order to address national security concerns.
In mid-January, Donald Trump Jr visited the country’s capital, Nuuk. He visited Hotel Hans Egede for lunch with a group of individuals wearing ‘Make America Great Again’ hats – but since, the hotel’s boss has claimed the people were homeless and had been enticed by the prospect of free food.
Describing many of the group as homeless people, Jørgen Bay-Kastrup, the hotel’s chief executive, told The Guardian that Trump Jr “had just met them in the street and invited them for lunch, or his staff did. But I don’t think they knew who they were inviting”.
In response to The Guardian’s request for comment on the matter, Arthur Schwartz, a political operative and friend of the president-elect’s son, commented: “Do you think Donald Trump Jr was wandering around Greenland inviting homeless people … to lunch, or do you realise that the suggestion sounds so beyond the pale ridiculous that you should feel stupid even asking the question?
“There were cameras following him around from the second he got there to the second he left. Did they miss him recruiting homeless people … to his homeless person … lunch?”
