It's open ocean straight south of Vandenberg AFB all the way to Antarctica. This geographic quirk makes it a safer location to put satellites into polar orbit - Earth-observing sats launched out of Cape Canaveral have to take a "dog-leg" course correction to avoid overflying populated areas to the south, which uses up fuel and reduces available payload.

It's also the site for regular ICBM test launches, which are aimed southwest at the Kwajalein Atoll. Missile launches aren't quite as dramatic as those bound for orbit - a Minuteman III tends to be over the horizon in under a minute.