[batbomb]

My favorite example of an underground nuclear explosion was project gasbuggy, near where I grew up. They thought it might be useful if they could perform nuclear fracking:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gasbuggy

Where they performed the test is a very beautiful area.

Part of a larger project to actually perform nuclear terra-forming:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,899941,...

> Someone shouted: "We did it! We did it!" Hand shakes were exchanged all around. The U.S. had successfully set off the first nuclear explosion sponsored jointly by the Government and industry.