Big Chah Pile in Picher, OK, 31 Jan 2017
Scenes from Picher - Large chat pile on the south side of the ghost town, as seen from US-69.
Picher, Oklahoma
Tuesday afternoon 31 January 2017
Picher, Oklahoma is a former mining town, considered a major center of lead and zinc mining in the early half of the 20th century, and had a peak population of 14,252 in 1926.
But with a decline in mining operations, the town's population declined as well. Mining ceased in the late 1960's, and the resulting effects on the land and water created a significant environmental problem for the town and area.
The most visible of these effects are the many large chat piles (large mounds of toxic and lead-contaminated waste pilings and dust as a result of mining activities) that surround Picher.
In 1980, Picher was designated a Superfund site - eventually the federal and state governments ordered the whole town evacuated and its residents relocated - one of only a handful of towns evacuated and declared uninhabitable due to environmental damage.
An EF4 tornado in 2008 caused significant damage to whatever was left of Picher at the time - and just accelerated the exodus.
The town was officially dissolved in November 2013.
And as of 2015, the official population of Picher is 0 (zero) - essentially making it a ghost town.
[Information obtained from Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma]
Big Chah Pile in Picher, OK, 31 Jan 2017
Scenes from Picher - Large chat pile on the south side of the ghost town, as seen from US-69.
Picher, Oklahoma
Tuesday afternoon 31 January 2017
Picher, Oklahoma is a former mining town, considered a major center of lead and zinc mining in the early half of the 20th century, and had a peak population of 14,252 in 1926.
But with a decline in mining operations, the town's population declined as well. Mining ceased in the late 1960's, and the resulting effects on the land and water created a significant environmental problem for the town and area.
The most visible of these effects are the many large chat piles (large mounds of toxic and lead-contaminated waste pilings and dust as a result of mining activities) that surround Picher.
In 1980, Picher was designated a Superfund site - eventually the federal and state governments ordered the whole town evacuated and its residents relocated - one of only a handful of towns evacuated and declared uninhabitable due to environmental damage.
An EF4 tornado in 2008 caused significant damage to whatever was left of Picher at the time - and just accelerated the exodus.
The town was officially dissolved in November 2013.
And as of 2015, the official population of Picher is 0 (zero) - essentially making it a ghost town.
[Information obtained from Wikipedia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma]