Berkeley Pit - Butte, Montana
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 46° 00.676 W 112° 31.113
12T E 382439 N 5096420
Berkeley Pit is one of the largest Superfund sites in Montana, the coordinates are for the reception/gift show visitor center.
Waymark Code: WMXTBJ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2018
Views: 3
The Berkeley Pit, started in 1955, was a large truck-operated open-pit copper mine until mining ceased in 1982. By 1980 nearly 1.5 billion tons of material had been removed from the Pit, including more than 290 million tons of copper ore.
The Berkeley Pit is a former open pit copper mine, though the size of the Berkeley Pit have varying opinions the general consensuses is approximately one mile long by half a mile wide with an approximate depth of 1,780 feet. The removal of toxic contaminates is on going.
The site contains: Arsenic, cadmium, copper, and zinc to just name a few. The environmental impact in not limited to Berkeley Pit but the surrounding water shed and natural habitats.
As a side note, "The Auditor" was a shaggy pup abandoned by the pit and the miners adopted him by providing food and shelter, however throughout his life he avoided any human contact. He lived a long life considering the toxicity of the area. He was 17 years old when he quietly passed away in 2003. There is a bronze statue of "The Auditor" at the Visitor Center.