“Bumblehive” Data Center Below the Wasatch Range at Sunset

The NSA Utah Data Center in Bluffdale operates under the formal name Intelligence Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center, though it's widely known by its nickname, "Bumblehive." Built for roughly $1.5 billion and completed in 2014, the complex covers about 1.5 million square feet, with estimates of its data storage capacity ranging from 3 to 12 exabytes. It sits south of Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Range, near Camp Williams, on land the National Security Agency acquired from the Utah National Guard. Residential subdivisions have since spread closer to the site, filling in land that was largely open when construction began.

Photo taken in September 2023.