ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AT ALEYSK ICBM COMPLEX

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78T05439A000500130018-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 18, 2001
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: May 1, 1965
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2001/08/27 : CIA-RDP78TO5439A000500130018-7
Approved For Release 2001/08/27 : CIA-RDP78TO5439A000500130018-7
 Approved For Release 2001108/27 : CIA-RDP78T05439A000500130018-7`.
TOP SECRET-
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
DECLASS REVIEW by NIMA/DOD
ALEYSK ICBM COMPLEX
(S) ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AT
DIA Declassification/Release Instructions on File
the Espionage [awn U. S. Code Title I8, Sections 793 and 794. The law prohibits its transmission or the
revelation of its contents In anymanner to an unauthorized person, as well as its use in any manner prejudicial
to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the
Vatted States. It is to he seen only by personnel especially indoctrinated and authorized to receive lnfamiation
In the designated control channel. Its security must be maintained, n_accordince with regulations pertalning to
GROUP I
ruccuorD coos AtntoATIC
oO5'i 5Ali5r. A%D rict.*ss rICATIw,
-TOP SECRET-
 TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
(S) ANALYSIS OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AT
ALEYSK ICBM COMPLEX
PREPARED BY
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
 TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
PREFACE
This all-source study, which suppleeents earlier reports SAO/PC 270/1-1-64 and
SAO/PC 270/1-2-64, presents an analysis of the engineering geology at the Aleysk
ICBM Complex. The purpose of this analysis is to provide data thet:~cao be used to
evaluate the extent to which terrain and geologic conditions probably have affected
TCS-301 6 79/65
'Handle via TALENT/KEYHOLE control system only
 TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
Section 1. LFTRODUCTION~N__
The physical environment I. the vicinity of the Aleysk-ICBM c -
plex has been analyzed and the engineering-geology conditions at each
launch site are presented.
The Aleysk ICBM complex at the time of study con);Lsted of six
Type III (single) sites in various stages of construction. The complex
is located on the gently undulating southeastern edge of the West Siber-
i Plain; it is 150 nautical miles south of Novosibirsk, 160 nautical
mi northeast of Semipalatinsk, and is adjacent to the Turkestan -
Si erian Railroad. Most of the ar a is farmland consistipg of large-
ale. mechanized collective farms which produce field acid garden crops,
and also state farms, which specialize in wheat, sugar berets, cattle,
and poultry. The Aleysk area has a semiarid continental tclimat a char-
acterized by long, cold winters, and mild, occasionally hot, s
All climate data in this study except frost depths are based on statis-
tics for Barnaul, approximately 48 nautical odes northeast ofAleysk
and site of the nearest weather reporting tadJion; frost depth informa-
tion is based on data from other locations wits similar temperature
regimes. Seasonal frost is estimated to penetrate to a maximum depth of
about 8 feet; permanently frozen ground (permafrost) does or occur in
or near the study area. Snow cover persists throughout the winter; it
o?only accumulates to a depthof 11 inches by mid-February but extreme
- depths of 20 inches have been r orded.- Duststorms o sionally reduce
visibility to a few hundred feet, and small trees maycbae buried under as
much as 15 feet of dust. Occasional mild earthquakes occur in the
Aleysk a , but n e have reached a damaging intensity (6 on the
Mercalli-Cancans scale).
Section II. ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
_Analysis of the physical environment at the ICBM complex is based
study of Soviet literature, primarily in the fields-of-geology and
soils, modified by interpretation of-AL-REYHOlZ hotography.
vironmental data to support this. analysis are presented in the accom-
panying table and graphiroa-_
Components of the Aleysk complex are situated northwest of the
Aley River on yell-drained, gently undulating plain. Alluvial silt
and clay (Units 1 and 2) occur the flood plain of the Aley River and
on the valley floors ( fl cod plains) of intermittent. ibutary streams.- The soils on ancient terraces adjacent to the flood plain of the Aley
River consist dominantly of silty sand. 70 to 90 feet thick, with a
clayey silt (loess) c over (Unit 3). The surface materials at the launch
sites consist of loess, l to 35 feet thick, overlying alternate layers
of silt and silty clay (Unit 4) about 300 feet thick. The surficial
loess cover generally is lacking on areas adjoining intermittent drain-
ageways, and a stratum of silt and silty clay (Unit 5) occurs at the
surface-in these areas. Lacustrine clay deposits (Units 6 and 7) sever-
al hundred feet thick underlie all the other deposi':n
I. the a and
do not o r at the ground surface. Bedrock is not own to occur with-
in 500 feet of the surface anywhere within the mapped area-
Large* quantities of surface water a available from the Aley
River between early spring and early fall?but none I. readily available
most of the winter, when'che river is frozen; charactnristically. this
eater is of poor quality, in part because of its turbidity and in part
because of its high content of dissolved solids. Meager to small quanti-
ties,of ground water are available from terraces bordering the Aley
River, elsewhere only locally from discontinuous, perched water tables.
Good natural construction materials do not occur in the mapped area.
The silts and clays which predominate at t e poor for most construction
sesc, and the silty and on the ancienterraces is oad slightly better
for nstction u e than the silts and clays. Coarse-,grained soils
o r in quantities feasible to exploit.
other than the silty sand do not u
Hock suitable for crushing also doesnot occur in the mapped a Ex-
cept for a few very small stands of birch and aspen, mostly suitable
only for fuel, there I. no timber exploitable for construction purposes.
Natural foundation conditions for surface structures are generally
poor to very poor. Both the silts and clays have low. bearing strength
when wet, and the silts a subject to liquefaction when saturated, a
condition most likely to o r during the period of spring thaw. The
silts and clays are also subject to moderate-to severe frost t
acion.
Foundation conditions for deep silo structures are fair to very poor;
the low bearing strengths of the soils would be compensated for to some
degree by the probable absence of saturated conditions at great depths.
Shallow a vations would be easy to dig, but walls would require moder-
ate to heavy support a ceps in the loess layer, here calls of-e -
tions would be quite stable. Seismic velocities of all surf ace andva
near-surface materials generally are low.
Launch Site 1 is located about 6.8 nautical miles west-southwest
of Aleysk. It is on a nearly level, cultivated plain near the head of -
shallow tributarydrainagevay to the Aley River. Total relief with in
1 nautical mile of the site is less than 50 feet.
The site is o very deep uc olidated materials nsisting of
about 25 feet of loess o erlying 150 feet of alternate sandy silt and
silty clay beds containing a few layers of loess and -e lenses of
silty sand. The water table is y deep. Ground v s in
perched water tables, mainly in the silty sand lenses, e ands quantities
e meager .. Surface ?ater, in ally large qv tities but !.g en-
rally poor qualityI. availableairon the Aley Rivenr, about 4 ntical
miles to the southeast.
* For explanation of water terns, see Engineering Geology table foot-
note.
Foundation conditions at the site are poor on both the sandy silt
and the silty clay. The sandy silt is subject to liquefaction when
saturated. Excavations are asy to dig, but walls require moderate to
strong support, and seepage from lenses of silty sand may require con-
trol. Seismic velocities of materials to a depth of 200 feet beneath
the site range between 1,000 and 3,000 feet per second.
Borrow sources of both sand and gravel and of bedrock suitable for
crushing are well outside the area of the complex; silty sand is-avail-
able from the terraces adj cent to the flood plain of the Aley River but
probably is too fine-grained to exploit a s a source of fine aggregate.
Construction timber is not available near the launch site.
Launch Site 2 is located about 4.0 nautical miles vest of Aleysk,
and about 3.6 nautical miles northeast of Launch Site 1. Environmental
conditions are similar to those at Launch Site 1.
Launch Site 3 is located about 4.7 nautical miles north-northwest
of Aleysk, and about 3.6 nautical miles north-northeast of Launch Site 2.
Except for a slightly deeper-surficial layer of loess, environmental I
conditions are similar to those it Launch Site 1.
Launch Site 4 is located about 7.9 nautical miles northwest of
Aleysk, about halfway between the Gorevko River and a road between
Aleysk and Mokhovskoye. At this launch site, the surfirial layer of
loess is only about l0 feet thck, but the underlying strata a aie,i-
lar to those of the other launch sites. Surface water is available
only seasonally, and in meager quantities, from the intermittent flow
of the Gorevko River; furthermore, the quality_1s_poor_because-nf the
`"-~higtc--content of disaolved-minerale-"--'O that environmental conditions are
similar to those at Launch Site 1. - - -
Launch Site 5 is located about 11.7 nautical miles northwest of
Aleysk, near the headquarters of the Aleysk State Farm (Sovkboz
Aleyskiy).- Environmental conditions are similar to those at. Launch
Site 1.
Launch Site 6 is located about 9.8 nautical miles northwest of
Aleysk, north of a road between Aleysk and Mokhovskoye near the
Poperechikha River, and about 3.5 nautical miles north of Launch Site 4.
The site is situated between two small dralnageways tributary tithe
Poperechibba River. The surficial layer of loess which characterizes
the other five sites is lacking, and the site rests directly upon the
tr
.satum of alternate layers of sandy silt and silty clay. Other environ-
mental conditions are similar to those of Launch Site 1.
Section III. SUMMARY
The Aleysk ICBM complex is located owell-drained terrain of low
relief nearly 300 nautical miles outside the zone of discontinuous
permafrost. Launch sites a e located on arly level surfaces under-
lain by a much as 35 feet of loess andmo a than 500 feet of silt and
clay. The water table'is very deep except rfor perched water tables
occurring in scattered lenses of silty sand, most_oE which are at -
depths in excess of 150 feet. Excavations are easy to dig, but walls
would require support. particularly where lenses of silty send are
untered. Foundation conditions within 200 feet of the 'surface a
fair to very poor. Borrow sour e for crushed stone and riprap do:not
occur in the mapped area, nor dsources of sand and gravel for aggre-
gate.
A study of the terrain of the Aleysk a a does not suggest the
presence of any topographic or soil factor a major consideration I.
the precise location of the launch sites. Hwever, all launch sites
are naturally well drained and relatively close to a source of vater,
the-Aley River, and to transportation facilities of the Turkestan-
Siberian railroad. -
TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
TCS- 301679/65
Handle via TALENT / KEYHOLE control system only
 DIAGRAMMATIC GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTIONS
AT ALEYSK ICBM LAUNCH SITES
LAUNCH
SITE 2
RELIABILITY OF CROSS SECTIONS ;
THE CROSS SECTIONS ARE DRAWN ON THE BASIS OF DATA AVAILABLE FOR THE
GEOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE GENERAL AREA OF THE SITES,
MODIFIED BY TALENT -KEYHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY. ELEVATIONS ARE BASED ON ARMY MAP
SERVICE 1:250,000 SERIES N502, SHEET NN 44-12, WHICH WAS COMPILED FROM RUSSIAN
MAPS OF FAIR RELIABIU Y DATED 1934-38. DRILLING DATA FOR THE AREA IS LACKING,
AND RELIABILITY OF LAYER THICKNESS IS PROBABLY t 5O%; RELIABILITY OF COMPOSITION
AND SEQUENCE OF LAYERS 15 FAIR
TCSJ01679/65 TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
Handle via TALENT/KEYHOLE control system only
LAUNCH SITE CONFIGURATION
'TPE a (SINGLE)
LC.mch sites ac the Aleysk ICBM complex
are currently in various stages of con-
atruction and their final configurations
ere undetermined. Therefore, no typical
diagram is shown and they t; referred to
as Type III (single) sites.
FOR LOCATIONS OF AREAS DIAGRAMMED. SEE MAP ON
PAGE 4; FOR EXPLANATION OF, GEOLOGIC UNITS, SEE
TABLE ON PAGE S.
EXCEPT FOR PERCHED WATER TABLES OCCURRING IN
SILTY SAND LENSES, A GROUND-WATER TABLE IS LACKING.
HORIZONTAL SCALE 1.20,000
VERTICAL EXAGGERATION 20X
 TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
DIAGRAMMATIC GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTIONS
(CONTINUED)
LAUNCH
SRE 3
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- -- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- ---- -------------- --- - ---- ------------
-------
--
?
------------------
-
G o.ooa ? o.ooo ?O?
FEET _ eH
soo
TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
TCS-301679/65
Handle via TALENT/KEYHOLE control system only
 J~
ALEYSK ICBM COMPLEX
UNITS 6 AND 7 ARE NOT EXPOSED AT
SURFACE (SEE CROSS SECTION). }
ELEVATION IN FEET.
ELEVATION DATA FROM ARMY MAP SERVICE
1250,000 SERIES 14502, SHEET NN 44-12.
DIAGRAMMATIC GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION
VERTICAL EXAGGERATION 79X
TCS-301679/65
Handle via TALENT/KEYHOLE control system only
TOP, SECRET RUFF CHESS
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
ROAD. -
FAIR WEATHER, LOOSE SURFACE_
TRACK OR TRAIL
- RAILROAD, 5'0" GAGE
TOP SECRET RUFF CHESS
 Approved For Release 2001/08/27 : CIA-RDP78TO5439A000500130018-7
Approved For Release 2001/08/27 : CIA-RDP78TO5439A000500130018-7
 SECRET
.nn ' SURFAOE WIND DIRECTIONS
TCS301679/65 SECRET
MONTHLY TEMPERATURE
CLIMATE
;ci
ILLEGIB
 Approved FQr Release ?001108/27 : CIA-RDP78T05439A000500130018-7
DOD AND JOINT AGENCIES Defensc Intelligence Agenry, Pentagon
Defense Intelligence Agency. Production Center
National Security Agency
Commander-in Chief. Alaskan L ,atimantl
Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command
Commander in Chief. Continental Air Defense Command
Commander in Chief. European Command
Commander in Chief, Pacific Command
Commander in Chief. Strategic Air Command
Commander in Chief, STRIKE Command
(1EPART\tE -T OF THE ARMY
Ass~stant Chill of Staff for Intelligence,
Army Map Service'
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
' Director of Naval lntelltgence. Office of the Chief of
Naval Operations
". S. Naval Rat-onnrissance and Techniral Support Center*
U. S. Naval Scientific and Technical Intelligence Center
DEPARTIENT OF THE AIR FORCE
Assistant Chief of staff. intelligence
Headquarters. Air Force Systems Command Foreign Technology Division Aerotuutieal Chan and Information Center
O.-S. Air Force Liaison Team. London
OTHER
Department of State
Central Intelligence Agency
National Photographic Interpretation Center
4
9