Today is the 75th anniversary of the detonation of the nuclear bomb over Hiroshima. That event had a major impact on the canyon country of southern Utah, although it was not obvious at the time. The start of the nuclear age suddenly put uranium in high demand, and this was the place to find it. The US Atomic Energy Commission supported anyone who wanted to prospect by offering guaranteed minimum prices for ore. The commission built many of the dirt roads now popular with off-roaders and promised $10,000 bonuses for new finds.
By the early 1950s hordes of both amateurs and professionals were combing the landscape with handheld Geiger counters. Most didn't know what they were doing and went broke, but a few got rich, at least temporarily. The prospector who probably had the most influence early on was Charlie Steen, an unemployed geologist who couldn’t afford a Geiger counter but used his knowledge of geology to find the first big strike in 1952. His Mi Vida mine produced hundreds of millions of dollars of ore, making him a rich man and the most influential person in Moab, Utah. But frivolous spending sprees and ill-advised investments eventually drove him broke.
As part of the research I’m doing for my book on canyon
country, I decided to pay a visit to his Mi Vida mine, long since closed
down. It was many miles down rough dirt
roads, and I took wrong turns twice along the way. But I eventually arrived and was able to
explore its remaining relics. The mine
itself has been blocked with tons of dirt to prevent entry, but rusting
equipment remains. I was surprised at
how small the site was; I had been expecting something covering many
acres. I subscribe to the premise that if
you really want to see something off the beaten path you need to figure out how
to get there on your own, so I won’t post directions here, but here are a
couple of views from my visit.
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