Amchitka is an Aleut name first reported by early Russians as Ostrov Amchitka. During the World War II Aleutians campaign, military operations were present on several islands in the Chain. In the early 1960s, Amchitka became a nuclear testing facility under the Atomic Energy Commission. Three underground nuclear explosions occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. The facility was closed in 1994.
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History and map graphic used with permission from the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development