Trementina Base facts for kids
Trementina Base is a special property near Trementina, New Mexico. It belongs to the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST), which is connected to Scientology.
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What is Trementina Base?
The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) was created to manage the important writings and works of L. Ron Hubbard. He was the founder of Scientology. The main goal of Trementina Base is to keep his works safe for the future.
This includes his books, films, and recordings. They are stored in a very special way. Hubbard's texts are carved onto strong stainless steel tablets. These tablets are then placed inside tough titanium capsules. These capsules are buried deep underground. This project started in the late 1980s.
The Church of Scientology works hard to protect Hubbard's writings. Copies of his texts are kept safe behind fences and in deep, secure vaults. The underground area shows how important Hubbard's ideas are meant to be forever. It also represents the "purity" of his work.
The base has several buildings where people can live. The main archives are in a network of tunnels underground. Trementina Base also has its own private airport. It is called the San Miguel Ranch Airport (NM53).
How Trementina Base Started
The land where Trementina Base is located has an interesting history. The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) has owned two different pieces of land in the same area. They built the underground vault on the first piece of land between 1986 and 1992.
In 1992, CST traded this land with the United States government. They exchanged one 400-acre piece of land for another 400-acre piece. Both pieces of land were in San Miguel County, New Mexico. The value of both lands was set at $28,000. This trade was seen as good for the public.
Before this trade, in 1986, CST had bought the first site for $250,976. They then spent millions of dollars building the underground vault there.
Symbols Seen from the Sky
In November 2005, a photo taken from the air showed huge Scientology symbols on the ground at the base. This caused a lot of interest in the news. A report from The Washington Post said that the Church first tried to stop the news from being shared.
A TV station named KRQE was going to show a report about the symbols. The Church tried to convince the station not to air the story. Church officials even visited the TV station. They offered a tour of the underground facility if KRQE would not show the report. The Church also contacted the station's owner and a powerful lawmaker to try and stop the story.
These large symbols on the base can only be seen from an airplane or from space. They are the symbols of Scientology's Church of Spiritual Technology. Some people who used to be part of the Church have said that these symbols mark a "return point." This means they are a guide for Scientologists who might travel back to Earth from other parts of the universe in the future. They would use these symbols to find Hubbard's works.
Other Storage Places
The Church of Spiritual Technology has two other similar bases. One is in Petrolia, California, and the other is in Creston, California. These bases also store permanent copies of everything L. Ron Hubbard ever wrote or said.
Records show that in 1992, Scientologists spent $13 million to save Hubbard's writings. They put his fiction and non-fiction works on 1.8 million stainless steel discs. They also recorded his lectures on 187,000 nickel records. The Church of Spiritual Technology symbol can also be seen at the Petrolia location. It is also in the middle of a track at the ranch in Creston, California, where L. Ron Hubbard passed away.
