Deadly Deadliest Toxic Waste Pool Pond The Berkeley Pit Weird Strange VR Locations

The Berkeley Pit Visitor Center, 300 Continental Dr, Butte, MT 59701, United States

In 1995, a flock of migrating geese landed in the Berkeley Pit and died. A total of 342 carcasses were recovered. ARCO, the custodian of the pit, denied that the toxic water caused the death of the geese, attributing the deaths to an acute aspergillosis infection that may have been caused by a grain fungus, as substantiated by Colorado State University necropsy findings.

Link Location Gps -112.5183556

Gps Coordinates / 46.0111033,-112.5183556

Necropsies showed their insides were lined with burns and festering sores from exposure to high concentrations of copper, cadmium, and arsenic. Levels of copper are high enough that Montana Resources has mined copper directly from the water.

Link Location Gps / Gps Link -112.5177533 / Gps Link -112.5178633 / Gps Link -112.5181773

Gps Coordinates / 46.0116333,-112.5177533 / 46.0117389,-112.5178633 / 46.0112284,-112.5181773

On November 28, 2016, several thousand snow geese died after a large flock landed in the pit's water to avoid a snowstorm. Immediately after the event, officials made efforts to scare birds away and prevent more from landing in the area. An official report issued in 2017 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the 3,000 to 4,000 snow geese that died at the Berkeley Pit were killed by exposure to sulfuric acid and heavy metals.

Link Location Gps -112.517695

Gps Coordinates / 46.0116889,-112.517695

The Berkeley Pit is currently one of the largest Superfund sites. The water, with dissolved oxygen, allows pyrite and sulfide minerals in the ore and wall rocks to decay, releasing acid. The acidic water in the pit carries a heavy load of dissolved heavy metals. A water treatment plant has been operating since October 2019.