Butte, Montana, was originally founded as a gold camp, but its real wealth was in copper which made Butte “The Richest Hill on Earth.” With more than 100 deep shaft copper mines, some more than a mile deep, Butte also became the home of the Montana School of Mines which later became Montana Tech. An old lecture hall in Montana Tech today houses the Mineral Museum which includes displays of copper minerals.
Michigan Copper and Silver
For more than a thousand years prior to the European invasion of North America, the Native Americans in the Lake Superior district of what would become Michigan mined copper which they used for ornaments and tools. From 1845 to 1969, the Keweenaw Peninsula produced nearly 11 billion pounds of copper from its underground mines. Shown below is the small display of Michigan copper and silver in the Mineral Museum.
More Minerals and Geology
Mineral Museum: Tsumeb, Namibia (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Thunder Eggs (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Some Minerals (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Gems and Minerals as Art (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: California Gems and Minerals (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Hixon Gem Vault (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: South American Gems and Minerals (Photo Diary)