If there’s one thing you should know about the Four Corner states and the 1950s & 60s, it’s uranium. There are old mines for the stuff everywhere. Uranium Fever during this brief 12-year period was fueled by the Cold War & the desire to make chemical weapons. And one of the places mined the hardest was southeast Utah. Here’s a map of places around the western US where it was sourced from.

And a number of nasty superfund sites in places like Moab, Grand Junction, and Montrose where the metal was processed. Many are still being cleaned up today.

Being the urban explorer I am, I found my way to an abandoned mine just outside Monticello, UT. Seeing it from the river corridor below, I decided to scramble up and poke around. The below photos are from said adventure.

DISCLAIMER: This is a really bad idea for your health. I would not advise. Still fun though.