Butte - once thriving town now on a freefall

Trip Start Aug 19, 2010

Trip End Nov 15, 2010

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Flag of United States Butte, Montana
Thursday, September 16, 2010

I stopped off in Butte, MT on my way from Bozeman to Missoula. Butte used to be one of the biggest boomtowns in America due to it's rich mineral reserves but is now dwindling since the mines are no longer profitable at current metal price levels.

One relic of it's past is the infamous Berkeley Pit. The pit is a 1 mile wide abandoned copper mine that is now filling up with heavily toxic water. They've managed to make it a tourist spot as they probably need the money to manage this environmental disaster. Pretty appalling stuff..

Slideshow