Herriman, Utah: Biggest Pit in the World

If the open-pit Bingham Canyon Mine were a stadium, it could seat nine million people. Visitor Center was destroyed by a rock slide in 2013; bus tours to the mine overlook resumed in 2023.

On the morning of April 10 more than 165 million tons of dirt and rocks slid into the bottom of the mile-deep Biggest Pit in the World. It was the largest slide in he history of the mine, wiping out roads and burying steam shovels, dump trucks, bulldozers, and graders. No one was hurt, but the Visitor Center and overlook are now closed, and will remain closed at least through the rest of 2013.

Well, we diverted from a mega 19-day road trip to see this just because it sounded so spectacular -- and we weren't disappointed! The visitor center was small but perfectly formed; we only needed about an hour or so there. The massive tire is a great spot for a picture, and the views... well, big! The shop was quite nice too for getting souvenirs. I cherish and use daily my coaster for my tea!

The Kennecott Corporation's Bingham Canyon Mine is amazing to behold. Very impressive museum and displays. There is also a film that is quite informative. The giant tires cost approximately $100,000 each!

Kennecott Utah Copper celebrated 100 years of copper mining in the Bingham Canyon Mine in 2003. The Mine is now more than three-quarters of a mile deep and it's still 2 1/2 miles wide, and it's still the Largest Man Made Excavation on Earth.

In addition to the huge tire in your story (they are bigger now), there is an award-winning Visitors Center with fun and exciting exhibits and displays and a 15-minute video tour of the copper production operations (Mine, Concentrator, Smelter and Refinery). In the spring of 2006, the facility will be relocated 500 feet lower into the Mine at about 6,200 feet above sea level.