DEVILS LAKE AREA, NORTH DAKOTA WINTER TEST SITE FOR EQUIPMENT
1963
Pierce, N. E.
During the past 12 years the Laboratory has used various winter sites in the Sierras of California to test the functional performance of polar structures and equipment. Conditions for these tests have been marginal at best. Since 1960 a search has been conducted for a site more suitable for this testing prior to shipment of new and novel equipment to the arctic or antarctic. A primary requirement for the new site was availability of relatively thick shallow-water ice. An investigation of the Devils Lake area in North Dakota indicates that this area fulfills the current requirements for a Laboratory winter test site. Its winters are dry and cold and the ice on Devils Lake averages 36 inches in January and February. Also, considerable ice is beached and rafted along the shore each winter. Temperatures during these two months range from 0 to -40 F and the ground is normally covered with 4 to 12 inches of dry, granular snow. The area is accessible by road, rail and air. Good accommodations are available in the town of Devils Lake and support facilities are available at the North Dakota National Guard's Camp Grafton which is located on Devils Lake.
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