Kennecott Copper Mine

This picture is from Kennecott's website

Our home is nestled between the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains. We are closer to the Oquirrh Mountains. One of the things I loved most when we were looking for a house in this area was the view of the Kennecott copper mine. You can't see the mine from our house, but you can see the spoils (rocks and dirt that have been dug from the mine) that have been dumped on the side of the mountain. I think it's beautiful.

You would never know that on the other side of that mountain is the biggest man-made excavation, which can be seen from space. Kennecott copper mine is an open pit mine. It is 2 3/4 miles wide and 3/4 miles deep.


Huge trucks remove rocks from the mine and deposit them into crushers. The trucks can carry up to 320 tons. The tires alone are bigger than a normal truck.

It's an amazing site to see.