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Uravan, Colorado | |
|---|---|
 The reclaimed Uravan townsite (at the base of sandstone outcrop) as it appeared in 2008 | |
  Uravan  Uravan | |
| Coordinates:38°22′06″N108°44′11″W / 38.36833°N 108.73639°W /38.36833; -108.73639 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | Montrose |
| Elevation | 4,990 ft (1,520 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 203153[1] |
Uravan (a contraction ofuranium/vanadium[2]) is a former uranium mining town[1] in westernMontrose County, Colorado, United States, which still appears on some maps. The town was acompany town established by U. S. Vanadium Corporation in 1936 to extract the richvanadium ore in the region. As a byproduct of vanadium extraction, small amounts ofuranium were also produced, at the time mostly used as a yellowpigment for ceramics.
The town was located approximately 90 miles (140 km) south-southwest ofGrand Junction along theSan Miguel River. At one time, over 800 people lived in Uravan, and the town housed a school, a trading center (store), medical facilities, tennis courts, a recreation center, and a pool. The school and some other facilities remained operational until at least 1983; however, Uravan was shut down by mid-1985, and no traces of its former buildings remain. Uravan is now an uninhabited, undevelopedSuperfund site.
There are several prehistoric sites near Uravan on theColorado State Register of Historic Properties:[3]
In 1885, placer gold was discovered in a tributary of theSan Miguel River, Mesa Creek, nine miles fromNucla, Colorado. The Montrose Placer Mining Company constructed theHanging Flume on the east wall ofDolores River Canyon.[4]: 54–56
DuringWorld War II, Uravan provided part of the uranium needed by theManhattan Project for the firstatomic bomb. 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).
In the beginning of theCold War, to ensure adequate supplies of uranium for national defense, the United States Congress passed the U.S.Atomic Energy Act of 1946, creating theU.S. Atomic Energy Commission (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 theFour Corners region of the country. Uravan's fortunes grew as it became one of the major "yellowcake boomtowns" in the region.
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: commercialnuclear power 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.
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 completed in 2008.[5] All the buildings have been removed and the site regraded and replanted, about 800 inhabitants had to move.[6] All that remains is a turnoff andinterpretive sign alongState Highway 141. Former residents of Uravan raised funds to preserve a boarding house and recreation center on the old town site, butDow Chemical, which acquiredUnion Carbide, the owner of the Uravan mill, in 1999, burned them down in 2007 due to fears of radiative contamination.[7]
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) northwest of the first parcel; and the townsite property, located between County Roads EE22 and Y11.[8]
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 a 17-acre (6.9 ha) section of Ballpark parcel #1, with the intention of building a museum and campground on the property.
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.
Municipalities and communities ofMontrose County, Colorado,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| International | |
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| Other | |
