Minor Malorum Duorum

So, I grew up nearish Leadville, and we had to drive up there every so often for, I dunno, probably Tupperware parties or God-related shit. Anyway. For years I had been trying to remember the name of the mine we drove by during these trips, and failing; I've also spent an unknown number of hours scouring Google satellite for the tailings pond I remembered, and never found anything.

Thanks to extra snow in the Rockies that lead to this article, I learn the mine was called Climax, and was closed in 1995, which is why it's not showing up in GSat anymore.

I don't have time to look around for pictures of it in its glory, but I definitely will. As a kid not really understanding "environmental impact," the tailings pond was this giant, gorgeously colored alien landscape in the middle of the mountains. The trees on the edge of the lake were dead or dying and twisted and creepy. The water itself was opaque, orange and green and other colors just swirled about, like some bizarre poisoned pudding.

So cool.