The huge slag pile and smelter at Anaconda/Greenwood is a fantastic area to explore.
In the early 1900s the copper-rich mountains around Greenwood were buzzing with activity. Towns were popping up to support dozens of claims and mines around the area. The huge slag pile is best know for it’s Hell’s Bells which come from the railway cars of the same shape that dumped the waste material. It feels like walking on an old lava flow but this material is so inhospitable, even after 100 years, plant life isn’t returning. Just up the hill there is lots more to explore as you enter the ruins of the Anaconda Smelter.
Above the almost completely collapsed flue tunnel the smelter’s 36m high chimney dominates the skyline. It was constructed by hand brick by brick – and a lot of them! Nearly a quarter million!
