Kennecott Copper Mine

Looking from the footbridge, this is the whole area of the Kennecott mine.

This area had one of the richest copper deposits ever found.  They brought mining equipment in by dog sled, horse and steamship before the railroad was completed.  An entire steamship was hauled in over the mountains, piece by piece, to be reassembled on the Copper River.
            The first train left Kennecott in 1911 filled with $250,000 worth of copper.  They built their own power plant for electricity.

We learned that all the piles of dirt around this area were not mine tailings, but actually the Kennecott Glacier.  You can see the ice under all the sediment.
The mine tailings were all used on roads and a ball diamond for the community.

Ice could be seen calving at the bottom of the Kennecott Glacier.

 We took a tour of the 14 story mill building by hiking to the top and coming in from the back. 

After getting our hard hats, Charlie and Toad had to pose!

The tour guide told many stories as we walked through all the levels of the building.

These are shaker tables used to move extra rocks and sand away from the heavy copper.

Very interesting place to experience.  It closed in 1938.  Many wonderful stories have been written by the children, called Kennecott Kids, who grew up here during this time period!  They were looked after and cared for by the whole community!

These cleated boot covers, called  crampons, are used to climb the ice in the area.  They were spotted at a local outfitter.
We decided against that excursion!

KENNECOTT GLACIER

Scenes as we drove out of the Kennecott and McCarthy area.