South Dakota's Nuclear Dilemma: Understanding Risks And Realities

Possible Nuclear Missile Attack Targets in and Close To South Dakota

There are about 12,500 nuclear warheads in the world today. Most of them belong to the United States and Russia. Since their invention, the two nations have picked targets in each other's countries.

Part of the joy of living in the middle of the content in places like North and South Dakota, Nebraska, or Wyoming is the wide-open spaces. Lots of nothing. All that wide open space is also a perfect place to keep a bunch of nuclear missiles.

America's nuclear deterrent lives in many places; the air, under the oceans in submarines, and in thousands of nuclear-tipped missiles buried under the plaines of the midwest. Plus there are some pretty important Air Force bases in the area.

The collection of bases and all those missile silos, unfortunately, makes this part of the world a big, fat, target.

So what would happen if the worst comes to worst? Which cities in our part of the world would most likely be nuclear bomb targets?

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis