Butte, << byoot, >> Montana (pop. 34,494), is called The Mile High City and The City That’s a Mile High and a Mile Deep. It lies on a plateau in southwestern Montana, 5,765 feet (1,757 meters) above sea level. Some mine shafts once reached as far as 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) below Earth’s surface. Thousands of mine tunnels run beneath the streets of Butte and extend into the side of the hill on which the city is built. Butte is one of the largest cities in Montana. It is about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Helena, the state capital.
Butte is the center of a rich mining district. The mines produce copper, gold, and silver, and their by-products arsenic, cadmium, and molybdenum. Butte is the home of Montana Technological University.
For many years, copper mining was Butte’s chief industry. From the 1980’s to the early 2000’s, copper mining took place only when copper prices were high. The Berkeley Pit, once the site of open-pit mining operations, is filled with toxic water.
Placer mining for gold began in the area in 1864. The townsite was laid out in 1867 and named for a prominent butte nearby. Quartz mining for silver and copper developed in the late 1800’s. Open-pit mining began in 1953. In 1983, the copper mining company closed the mines because they had become unprofitable and allowed the tunnels and the Berkeley Pit to fill with water.
In 1977, Butte combined its government with that of Silver Bow County. Butte is the seat of Butte-Silver Bow County and is governed by a council of commissioners. For the monthly weather in Butte, see Montana (Climate) .
