Berkeley Pit
If one finds oneself in Butte, Montana, one can pay six dollars to visit the largest Superfund site in the United States.
If a eighteenth century artist did so, I'm certain the word "sublime" would be uttered in their conversation—the scale of this hole in the earth is truly difficult to comprehend. It is one mile long by one-half mile wide by a whopping 1,780 feet deep.
It was opened in 1955 and closed in 1982; it was listed as a Superfund site the following year. Drones, cannons, and noise are used to keep migrating birds from landing in the toxic water that has filled the pit since it was decommissioned. Contaminants include arsenic, copper, cadmium, zinc, and lead.
Work is continuing to clean the water: it is pumped out and filtered. This pumping keeps the water level at its current point as water continues to drain into the large hole. This is a good thing as the walls would cave in without the massive force of the water pushing outward.
The first image shows what one sees from the viewing area, while the second image, taken prior, is of the steel-lined tunnel one walks through to reach the platform. It must be this substantial, I suppose, so that house-sized trucks can trundle overhead.
The third photograph shows the Continental Pit, which is adjacent and still operational; Our Lady of the Rockies (see my earlier posts) can be seen in the background, perched upon the continental divide itself.
Three photographs by Richard Koenig; taken September 19th 2025.
