Qualla: The Berkeley Pit https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: The Berkeley Pit https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte The Berkeley Pit: Introduction https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit Pahcal123, CC BY-SA 4.0. In Butte, Montana, there's a hole. Not just any hole - a mile-wide, 1,800-foot-deep pit that was once the world's largest open-pit copper mine. When the Atlantic Richfield Company stopped pumping in 1982, groundwater began to fill the pit. Over four decades, it's become a lake 1,000 feet deep containing approximately 50 billion gallons of water so toxic that birds die if they land on it. The water is highly acidic (pH 2.5), loaded with dissolved copper, iron, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, and sulfuric acid. In 1995, 342 migrating snow geese landed on the pit; by morning, all were dead, their insides corroded. The Berkeley Pit is one of the largest Superfund sites in America, a lake that grows two feet deeper each month, rising toward the day when it reaches the water table and threatens to contaminate the entire region.

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Image: Pahcal123 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Berkeley Pit: The Mining https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit Edwin W. Tooker, Public domain. Butte was the 'Richest Hill on Earth,' a copper bonanza that electrified America. Underground mining began in the 1880s, producing copper for telegraph and power lines. By the 1950s, the underground operations were exhausted, but copper prices made open-pit mining profitable. The...

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Image: Edwin W. Tooker | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-the-mining.mp3 0:06 2 full The Berkeley Pit: The Lake https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit William Rosmus, CC BY 3.0. Groundwater flows into the pit from the surrounding rock, carrying with it the metals exposed by a century of mining. The water interacts with the sulfide minerals in the rock, creating sulfuric acid. Dissolved copper gives the water a vivid blue-green color that's almost beautif...

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Image: William Rosmus | CC BY 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-the-lake.mp3 0:06 3 full The Berkeley Pit: The Geese https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit Chris06, CC BY-SA 4.0. On November 28, 1995, a late-season snowstorm forced a flock of migrating snow geese to land for the night. They chose the Berkeley Pit. By morning, 342 were dead - floating on the toxic water, their internal organs destroyed by the acidity. The incident made national news and fo...

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Image: Chris06 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-the-geese.mp3 0:06 4 full The Berkeley Pit: The Crisis https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit Edwin W. Tooker, Public domain. The critical level is 5,410 feet above sea level - the height at which the pit water would begin flowing into the alluvial aquifer that supplies drinking water to Butte and the surrounding region. As of 2024, the water level is approaching 5,400 feet, rising steadily. The EPA and...

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Image: Edwin W. Tooker | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-the-crisis.mp3 0:06 5 full The Berkeley Pit: Visiting the Berkeley Pit https://qualla.com/berkeley-pit-butte/ Photo credit Pahcal123, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand is located at the east end of Park Street in Butte, Montana. The platform allows visitors to view the pit lake from above. Admission is charged; hours vary seasonally. Interpretive displays explain the mine's history and ongoing remediation. The Wor...

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Image: Pahcal123 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/2/p/v/berkeley-pit-butte-wk/c2pv-the-berkeley-pit-visiting-the-berkeley-pit.mp3 0:06 6 full