 On Oppenheimer's recommendation, the search was narrowed to the vicinity of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Oppenheimer owned a ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Range.The climate was mild, there were air and rail connections to Albuquerque, it was sufficiently distant from the West Coast of the United States for a Japanese attack not to be an issue, and the population density was low.In October 1942, Major John H. Dudley of the Manhattan Engineer District (the military component of the Manhattan Project) surveyed sites around Gallup, Las Vegas, La Ventana, Jemez Springs, and Otowi, and recommended the one near Jemez Springs.