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Montrose County agreed to accept this property on behalf of the
Rimrocker Historical Society of Western Montrose County, which has worked since 1990 to preserve and interpret the history of Uravan. The Rimrocker Historical Society and Montrose County entered into a long-term lease on May 1, 2013 for
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The town had been in decline for several years; the decision was made to close Uravan in 1985 and commence a large-scale clean-up of the entire site. Environmental cleanup of the site commenced in 1986 and was essentially completed by 2001. (EPA, 2010, Five-Year Review) All the buildings have been
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On May 6, 2012, the
Montrose County Board of County Commissioners signed the Omnibus Agreement with Dow Chemical, giving them three tracts of land: Ballpark Parcel #1, a 133-acre (54 ha) plot between Hwy. 141 and the San Miguel River; Ballpark Parcel #2, approximately ten acres (4.0 ha)
529:(AEC) which had the power to withdraw prospective uranium mining land from public purchase, and also to manipulate the price of uranium to meet national needs. By setting a high price for uranium ore, the AEC created a uranium "boom" in the early 1950s, which attracted many prospectors to the
506:. Because of wartime secrecy the Manhattan Project would only publicly admit to purchasing the vanadium, and did not pay the uranium miners for the uranium ore (in a much later lawsuit, many miners were able to reclaim lost profits from the U.S. government).
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The
Rimrocker Historical Society of Western Montrose County hosts the annual Uranium History Celebration and Reunion Picnic at Historic Uravan, Colorado every August. Over 1,000 people attended the 100th anniversary of the original Joe Jr. Mill in 2012.
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American military requirements of uranium declined in the 1960s, and the government completed its uranium procurement program by the end of 1970. Simultaneously, a new market emerged: commercial
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plants. However, the U.S. domestic uranium mining industry collapsed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, due to lack of new nuclear power plants, and to low-price uranium imported from Canada.
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Dolores Cave was inhabited from about 600 BC to AD 1400. A corn cob dated about AD 1500 was found in the site, which indicates that corn was grown in the area after the
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a 17-acre (6.9 ha) section of
Ballpark parcel #1, with the intention of building a museum and campground on the property.
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removed and the site regraded and replanted. All that remains is a turnoff and interpretive sign along
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northwest of the first parcel; and the townsite property, located between County Roads EE22 and Y11.
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occupied from about AD 600 - 1500. There is also a
Tabeguache Cave and two other rock shelters near
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Colorado
Historical Society, Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 10-8-2011.
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Place names in
Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin
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The reclaimed Uravan townsite (at the base of sandstone outcrop) as it appeared in 2008
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Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press
Publishing Company,
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733:(xix ed.). Rimrocker Historical Society of Western Montrose County. 2012
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region of the country. Uravan's fortunes grew as it became one of the major "
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The town was located approximately 90 miles (140 km) south-southwest of
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ore in the region. As a byproduct of vanadium extraction, small amounts of
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established by U. S. Vanadium
Corporation in 1936 to extract the rich
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645:. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 50.
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In 1885, placer gold was discovered in a tributary of the
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were also produced, at the time mostly used as a yellow
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Rimrocker Historical Society of Western Montrose County
445:) abandoned their Colorado pueblos in the 13th century.
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There are several prehistoric sites near Uravan on the
478:. The Montrose Placer Mining Company constructed the
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Uranium mining ghost town in Montrose County, Colorado
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Former populated places in Montrose County, Colorado
498:, Uravan provided part of the uranium needed by the
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386:adium) is a former uranium mining town in western
431:Colorado State Register of Historic Properties
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882:Map of Colorado highlighting Montrose County
136:Mining ghost town in Colorado, United States
513:Holding ponds for uranium processing (1972)
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60:adding citations to reliable sources
1043:Uranium mining in the United States
766:Online memorial to Uravan, Colorado
662:Geographic Names Information System
609:Geographic Names Information System
826:Municipalities and communities of
771:EPA Uravan Uranium site Fact Sheet
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1053:Mining communities in Colorado
474:, Mesa Creek, nine miles from
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527:U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
229:Show map of the United States
311:4,990 ft (1,520 m)
1063:Superfund sites in Colorado
490:20th century uranium mining
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584:Uranium mining in Colorado
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727:"2012 Member of the Year"
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258:38.36833°N 108.73639°W
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439:Ancient Pueblo People
347: • Summer (
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639:Dawson, John Frank.
535:yellowcake boomtowns
484:Dolores River Canyon
482:on the east wall of
404:pigment for ceramics
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620:. October 13, 1978
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731:Annual News
504:atomic bomb
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249:108°44′11″W
1022:Categories
977:Ghost town
715:0878424555
590:References
425:Prehistory
413:along the
366:feature ID
316:Population
246:38°22′06″N
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419:Superfund
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308:Elevation
952:Cimarron
899:Naturita
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694:Archived
657:"Uravan"
604:"Uravan"
573:See also
519:Cold War
396:vanadium
302:Montrose
290:Colorado
962:Paradox
947:Bedrock
927:Redvale
494:During
461:History
443:Anasazi
400:uranium
275:Country
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909:Olathe
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382:nium/
358:(MDT)
356:UTC-6
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103:JSTOR
89:books
861:City
789:2013
739:2021
711:ISBN
678:2011
626:2021
466:Gold
364:GNIS
75:news
919:CDP
384:van
380:ura
349:DST
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