Visitors to the Berkeley Pit Viewing Stand get an up close view of the legacy of open-pit mining. The Pit operated from 1955 to 1982, removing 290 million tons of copper ore as it gobbled up whole residential neighborhoods and the Columbia Gardens on the East side of Butte.

It is more than 1,800 feet deep and getting deeper as millions of gallons of water flow into the Berkeley Pit each day. To see more information about the Berkeley Pit, visit PitWatch, the online periodical of the Berkeley Pit Public Education Committee at www.pitwatch.org.

The Berkeley Pit in 1960, less higher and much drier than in 2000.