ABANDONED MINES

The Riley Pass area has heavy metal and radioactive contamination from uranium mining in the 1960s. Riley Pass is part of the North Cave Hills, where there are at least 103 abandoned uranium mines. This is an area with sacred caves, and many people have ancient spiritual connections here. Because of destruction from mining, there is now radioactive dust here.

Riley Pass Site area map (Forest Service)
Riley Pass Site map: bluffs (Forest Service)

Read Geology and Uranium Deposits in the Cave Hills Area, Harding County, South Dakota report.

Images of North Cave Hills from Forest Service, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and Oglala Lakota College report: "Final Report: North Cave Hills Abandoned Uranium Mines Impact Investigation"

Interactive project map

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